Sébastien Loeb delighted his fans during the shakedown when he set the fastest time in 1m 47.1s closely followed by Sébastien Ogier and Dani Sordo in 1m 47.3s. The drivers then mingled with the crowd for the first time during the autograph session in Illkirch, and finished the day with the start ceremony on a packed Place Kléber.
The rally will get under way tomorrow morning in the vineyards of the Bas-Rhin after which the crews will head west for the Vosges for a 4-stage loop, covered again in the afternoon after a service halt in the Zenith in Strasbourg.
<u><b>Details – Day 1</b></u>
First day of the rally and the opening stage in the Bas-Rhin for the crews who will race through vineyards first of all before heading west towards the Vosges.
<b>ES 1/5 : KLEVENER – 9,8 Km </b>
This easily-accessible stage is near Strasbourg. It runs along the Klevener vineyard. The road winds its way along the hillside with a very slight slope providing excellent viewing over most of the route.
A very tricky stage that starts off quickly and then narrows. It has mixed concrete and gravel roads.
<i>1st pass
Start of 1st car: 07h48
2nd pass
Start of 1st car: 13h23 </i>
<b>ES 2/6 : UNGERSBERG – 15,5 Km</b>
First half of the stage in a vineyard on a narrow, tricky section, passage by the Nothalten fountain followed by a climb up the side of the Ungersberg. The closing section, not that easily accessible, is on a superb forest road.
<i>1st pass
Start of 1st car: O8h14
2nd pass</i>
<i>Start of 1st car: 13h49 </i>
<b>ES 3/7 : PAYS D’ORMONT – 36,1 Km</b>
This undulating stage, easily accessible in several places, is the longest one in the rally. It combines almost twenty different kinds of roads and surfaces in both the forest and open areas.
<i>1st pass
Start of 1st car: O9h19
2nd pass
Start of 1st car: 14h54 </i>
<b>ES 4/8 : SALM – 13,1 Km</b>
Back to the Bas-Rhin after a quick detour in the direction of the Bruche valley. The loop ends with a mountainside road on which the drivers have to cope with flat road sections (some with tiny upward slopes), then a downward part. A twisty road and a few hundred metres of quick gravel routes at the start of the stage. The final third is a much quicker downhill run.
<i>1st pass
Start of 1st car: 10h12
2nd pass
Start of 1st car: 15h47 </i>