A new rally

After Norway, Ireland, Jordan and Poland, Bulgaria is the fifth new country visited by the WRC in three years. The Bulgarian motorsport federation was therefore able to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its rally this year by graduating to the World Championship. Having been created in 1970 under the Communist era, this regular European Championship event used to be held on the shores of the Black Sea until 2001, before moving to the west of Bulgaria. The Citroen team had won in Bulgaria before with Bruno Thiry, who was fighting for the 2000 European title at the wheel of the Citroen Xsara. Rally HQ is now in Borovets, Bulgaria's oldest ski resort situated 60 kilometres south of Sofia. Running through the Rila mountain range, the route peaks at an altitude of 2100 metres on the second stage of day one. With testing on the spot banned, the Citroen Racing team undertook the pre-event test in France, using a location with similar characteristics to the rally: high altitude, wide roads and bumpy surfaces.

As round seven of the 2010 World Rally Championship, the Rally Bulgaria marked the start of the second half of the season, which will be dominated by asphalt rallies. After Bulgaria, the championship visits Germany, France and Spain. Asphalt is a favourite hunting ground for Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, who remain unbeaten on the surface since 2005. With a 38-point advantage over Sebastien Ogier and a 50-point margin over Mikko Hirvonen, the six-time World Champion started the Rally Bulgaria serenely. "I start the rally in the same way that I do all the others, with the desire to win.," he said. "But it's not easy because many drivers think the same as I do. The route is as we imagined it would be with wide, quick, bumpy and slippery roads, which feature several blind corners."

Having dominated shakedown on Thursday morning, the Citroen drivers monopolised the top places on the opening leg. Four stages were on the programme, all of which were won by Sebastien Loeb. "The day went well," he said. "I managed to pull out a gap by pushing to the maximum, without making mistakes, thanks to a car that worked perfectly." The gaps were already large. Dani Sordo was second, 20 seconds off his team mate, while Petter Solberg - driving his own C4 WRC - completed the top three. Only the Citroen Junior Team drivers hit problems on day one. Sebastien Ogier lost a minute after going off and was sixth behind the factory Fords, while Kimi Raikkonen went off the road on the final stage after setting top-five stage times.

Loeb gets away and Ogier makes up 2 places in the overall classification

The second leg got underway in wintry conditions that changed the complexion of the rally almost entirely by the end of the first stage, which finished at an altitude of nearly 2000 metres. Forty-five minutes earlier, the teams had been looking at the cloudy skies and anxiously awaiting information from the weather crews on the stage. Citroen Racing relied on a weather forecaster from Meteo France based in the service park and on information gathered by two ex-drivers, whose experience was invaluable. Sebastien Loeb and his team mates all opted for soft tyres, which were better suited to the damp and cold road surfaces than the hard tyres chosen by Ford. The uphill Sestrimo stage, which is bumpy, narrow and dirty, was made even more slippery by a rain shower before the start. At the top of the stage the temperature was less than 10 degrees. Sebastien Loeb knew from the beginning that he had made the correct tyre choice. "The road didn't appear to be too wet to me but the car was sliding a lot so it was clear that there was not much grip," he said. "I was really pleased to have the soft tyres on, as the road became wetter the higher we climbed." The final five kilometres through thick fog made the stage particularly difficult. The gaps at the end were huge. The Ford drivers lost more than a minute, while Loeb stretched his advantage over his team mate Dani Sordo and Petter Solberg. Sebastien Ogier made use of the conditions to make up two places in the overall classification.

With less than half of the rally gone, Citroen already seemed to be in the driving seat. Typical of the changeable weather found in mountainous regions, the afternoon loop on Saturday took place in hot but stormy conditions. Sebastien Loeb still chose soft tyres, contrary to the selection made by most of his rivals. "There could be some storms at the end of the day and I don't want to find myself on hard tyres in wet conditions," he explained. "With soft tyres, even on a dry but hot surface, I knew it would be OK. I might lose a bit of time, but I would certainly keep my lead." Petter Solberg's choice of tyres was the most competitive option and he set three fastest times on Saturday afternoon that allowed him to close up to Dani Sordo. With less than five seconds between the Norwegian and his Spanish rival, the fight for second place was the only thing at stake on the final day, with the other positions seemingly fixed. Nothing changed at the finish 24 hours later, marking a great result for Citroen and Total.