Team Citroen Abu Dhabi will be represented by three cars in this weekend’s Rally Argentina in Cordoba, the fourth round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) season.
First appearance
After concentrating his efforts on the Middle East Rally in the first part of the year, Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi makes his first appearance of 2015 in the WRC as he races the Citroen DS3 WRC alongside full-time drivers Mads Ostberg and Kris Meeke.
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Getting in the groove
Sheikh Khalid is treating this weekend as a learning exercise as he drives the WRC specification of the DS3 car for the first time.
“I have to learn about everything,” he said. “The handling is different, the engine is different and the transmission is different with the steering wheel-mounted gearshift paddles. So I am adapting my driving style. I’ll need to do 300 or 400 kilometres in order to feel comfortable.”
Tough times
Ostberg, who achieved the team’s best result of the season last month when he was second in Mexico, believes heavy rain in Argentina will make the event even more challenging. “The lines have been cut deep into the roads by the heavy rainfall,” he said. “We’ll have to find the right pace and try to maintain it. It will be tricky to get the balance right.”
Standings
Ostberg is fourth in the WRC drivers’ standings with 32 points, 49 adrift of championship leader Sebastien Ogier, who has begun his bid for a third successive title in his Volkswagen in fine style by winning the opening three rallies of the year. Meeke is down in 11th, with only 10 points to his name.
Schedule
The event begins on Thursday night with a short 2.68km opening stage, with business picking up on Friday with five stages covering 149.4 kilometres. Saturday is made up of four stages covering 131.1 kms, before concluding on Sunday with the final two stages, which are 32.6km in length.
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