BUT FOR A SLIP ON THE ICE…..
With ten of the 16 stages run in the 2006 Monte Carlo Rally carrying the name of Citroen’s World Champion Sébastien Loeb as the fastest driver, there can be little doubt who was the quickest in this year’s event, but it was not enough to give Loeb his fourth Monte win.
Loeb made a highly uncharacteristic slip, literally, on day one when he braked too late, slid on some ice and hit a wall, plunging him down the leader board as him limped into service and took a time penalty.
On Day Two he fought back with amazing stamina, putting in the fastest time on every stage and climbing back up to fourth place. Again on the final day Loeb put in a blistering performance, but it was not enough to get the Citroen driver on the top step of the podium, with him finishing in second place behind Marcus Gronholm.
But what the thrilling chase proved is not only Loeb a remarkable driver, but also that the Citroen Xsara WRC can still, despite being a 2004 car, take the battle right to the newest cars in the World Rally Championship.
“Of course I’m very disappointed to have made the mistake on Friday that dropped us down to eighth overall – especially for the team,” commented Seb. “I can only blame myself. On the other hand, I can honestly say that from the inside of the car this rally turned into a thrilling chase; the sort of battle that I really like. It showed us that our Xsara can more than stand up to the opposition, and that my new team is working really well. It’s a very good sign for the future.”
Daniel Elena summed up the closing stages with characteristic humour.
“We knew that Manfred Stohl, on ‘dry’ tyres, could come back at us and we had no information about Toni Gardemeister, as his car was not supplying split times. The only solution was to put the pedal to the metal! I am going to remember that downhill section on Turini for a very long time! Driving on dry roads with snow tyres, I was nearly seasick as the car was sliding so much,” said Daniel at the finish.
After an impressive third day, crowned by an excellent fifth-fastest time on the fearsome ‘Col de Braus’ (SS16), Xevi Pons has brought his team three precious manufacturers’ points.
“Reaching this objective was one of the reasons why I wanted to get to the finish at all costs, on a rally that has been incredibly difficult,” he said. “For the first time today, I was pleased with my driving on ice with ‘slick’ tyres. I’ve been amazed by Seb’s achievement, and I know that I will be able to learn a lot from him. Finally, I’d like to congratulate Dani Sordo, my friend and old rival in the Spanish Championship, on an excellent World Rally Car debut.”
Dani Sordo was slightly disappointed not to be able to take seventh place from Mikko Hirvonen, because of a hydraulic problem on SS18. But he soon found plenty of reasons to be cheerful.
“My co-driver Marc Marti has been on this rally six times and this is the most complicated one he has seen,” said Dani. “To be at the end of the rally with a second-fastest time in our pockets (SS10), one championship point, and an intact car is fantastic. Step by step I think I’ve learnt a lot since Friday and I can’t wait to get to Sweden now to learn some more.”
“What a baptism of fire!” said a visibly delighted team boss Marc Van Dalen. “We’ve experienced the worst road conditions in years, some difficult tyre choices from the start, and the race to re-prepare Seb’s car on Friday night – which had to be perfect in order for him to carry out the recovery drive he had planned. Then it all went down to the wire on the last stage. Seb has been astonishing, Xevi has brought us three points, and Dani has made a remarkable start. The whole team has been as motivated and enthusiastic as our drivers and co-drivers. The collaboration between our own people and those helping us from Citroën Sport has been instant and perfect. I hope that our work here at Kronos has been worthy of the faith Guy Fréquelin placed in us and the expectations of our partners. And I also hope that we keep going down this road!”
THE EVENT IN FIGURES
Best performers
S. Loeb, 10 fastest times – M. Grönholm, 2 – M. Stohl, 2 F. Duval, 1 – T. Gardemeister, 1 (2 SS cancelled).
Leaders SS1 to 5 : S. Loeb – SS6 to 18 : M. Grönholm.
Overall classification of Rallye Monte Carlo
1. M. Grönholm/T. Rautiainen (Ford Focus) 4 h 11min 43,9s
2. S. Loeb/D. Elena (Citroën Xsara) + 1 min 01,8 s
3. T. Gardemeister/J. Honkanen (Peugeot 307) + 1 min 23,1 s
4. M. Stohl/I. Minor (Peugeot 307) + 1 min 42,3 s
5. S. Sarrazin/S. Prévot (Subaru Impreza) + 3 min 20,2 s
6. Ch. Atkinson/G. Macneall (Subaru Impreza) + 5 min 02,4 s
7. M. Hirvonen/J. Lehtinen (Ford Focus) + 6 min 19,5 s
8. D. Sordo/M. Marti (Citroën Xsara) + 7 min 15,2 s
9. X. Pons/C. Del Barrio (Citroën Xsara) + 7 min 42,9 s
10. G. Panizzi/H. Panizzi (Škoda Fabia) + 9 min 29,8 s …
FIA World Rally Championship classification for ‘Manufacturers’
1. BP Ford WRT, 14 pts – 2. Kronos Total Citroën WRT, 11 pts – OMV Peugeot Norway, 6 pts Subaru WRT, 5 pts – Red BullŠkoda, 3 pts .
FIA World Rally Championship classification for ‘Drivers’
1. M. Grönholm (FIN), 10 pts – 2. S. Loeb (F), 8 pts – 3. T. Gardemeister (FIN), 6 pts – 4. M. Stohl (A), 5 pts – 5. S. Sarrazin (F), 4 pts – 6. Ch. Atkinson (AUS), 3 pts – 7. M. Hirvonen (FIN), 2 pts – 8. D. Sordo (E), 1 pt.
(ends)
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Release number: 626
Date of issue: 1/23/2006 Release Time: 16:41:22