After a blistering performance in this morning’s qualifying, Citroen Total Abu Dhabi Rally Team’s Dani Sordo opted for 13th position on the road for tomorrow’s opening stage despite other drivers suggesting there might not be as much cleaning to do on the stage as there has been on paste events.
Unsurprisingly the remaining top four drivers followed a similar tactic to Sordo, resulting in Sebastien Ogier 12th, Jari-Matti Latvala 11th, Mads Ostberg 10th with Mikko Hirvonen starting the opening stage 9th on the road.
The choices of the top five qualifying drivers came as no real surprise, due in no small part to the fact the teams are now limited to 24 tyres for the whole event. Tyre preservation is going to be of paramount concern, especially as 2013 sees the introduction of Sunday’s 52.30km Power Stage, one of the longest stages in the calendar.
First on the road will be Qatar World Rally Team’s Dennis Kuipers, though he didn’t seem to be too upset about being the first driver to take on the stage, instead suggesting that there might not be as much cleaning to do as the other drivers might be anticipating. Aware of the task at hand, he simply said he was going to focus on saving the tyres and finishing in a good position.