Dani Sordo fastest at Rally Japan Shakedown

Citroen Total team driver Dani Sordo posted the fastest time at today’s pre-event Shakedown test in Sapporo.

The Spaniard, who finished second on Rally Japan in 2007, completed two laps of the 1.46km stage in 2m34.2s, three tenths of a second faster than Stobart Ford driver Francois Duval who was his closest rival.

The Shakedown took place on the concrete and asphalt Super Special Stage constructed inside the Sapporo Dome stadium. As such, road conditions bore little relation to the vast majority of the event’s gravel stages which are located in the countryside surrounding the city.

After the session many WRC drivers said they had been pleasantly surprised by the amount of grip they had found on the smooth polished surface using Pirelli’s soft compound gravel tyre.

"It’s actually not so bad," said Sebastien Loeb. "It was very slippery on the recce - when we were using road tyres - but with the proper gravel tyre it’s quite okay."

Ninety per cent of the track is covered by the roof of the stadium, but two corners and a short straight extend outside and are exposed to the elements. "If it rains it could be interesting!" said Mikko Hirvonen. "But in the dry conditions today it was quite okay. It actually felt like the grip was improving a bit as more cars laid down rubber. We’ll do the stage five times in total, so I’m sure it’s not going to get any worse."

1. Sordo: 2:34.2

2. Duval: 2:34.5

3. Hirvonen: 2:34.6

4. H. Solberg: 2:35.0

5. Loeb: 2:35.1

6. P. Solberg: 2:35.1

7. Atkinson: 2:35.3

8. Latvala: 2:35.6

9. Villagra: 2:36.1

10. Gardemeister: 2:37.4

11. Wilson: 2:37.6

12. Andersson: 2:38.8

13. Rautenbach: 2:43.0

More information on www.wrc.com   photo Willy Weyens