CITROEN AND LOEB IN CONTROL OF THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER JORDAN
Citroen And Sebastien Loeb are firmly in control of 2010 World Rally Championship after Loeb took his 56th career win in the Jordan round of the WRC at the weekend (1-3 April 2010) giving the six time world champion a powerful lead in the driver’s title chase, a position which is matched by Citroen in its pursuit of the manufacturers’ prize with a fourth position for Citroen’s Sordo adding to its points haul from the Dead Sea event.
Even by the world championship standards, this was a highly tactical event as drivers and teams coped with conditions that are unique in the World Rally Championship, from driving hundreds of metres below sea level to using roads that have a high salt content giving them a surface akin to tarmac.
As ever, road sweeping came for the fore as an event decider. It took Ford’s Latvala out of contention at the start of the event and at the end of the event, Citroen’s Junior Team Driver; Sebastien Ogier took penalties on the final day so he would sweep the road for an all conquering Loeb.
With two runs through a 4-stage loop, the final leg of Rally Jordan looked as difficult as those of the previous days. Sébastien Loeb led the overall classification with 27s in hand over Jari-Matti Latvala, but he was not first on the road.
“We asked Sébastien Ogier to check in early to sweep the road,” explained Olivier Quesnel, the Citroën Racing team principal. “We had a technical problem with his car in the service park, which dashed his hopes of a podium. We reckoned that this strategy would give Sébastien Loeb a better chance of defending his first place.”
Loeb banged in three quickest times in four stages and confirmed that he was the fastest driver in the rally. When the six-time world champion arrived back in the service park beside the Dead Sea, he was feeling pretty happy about the final stages:
“For sure, the team’ strategy made things a bit easier for me, but I’m not sure I really needed it. Despite a position that was not as favourable as Jari-Matti’s, we were able to open up the gap a bit more. Now, we’ll just have to watch out and avoid the traps of the second part to win the rally.”
Dani Sordo, who was running fourth behind Loeb, Latvala and Solberg, knew exactly what was expected of him – hang on to his position to score points for the Manufacturers’ World Championship.
“We’re in pussy-footing mode this morning,” joked the Spanish driver. “It’s not easy as there are still plenty of traps on the stages. As Petter Solberg isn’t scoring points for the manufacturers’ title and the fifth car is way behind us, we don’t have to push. We’ll continue like that till the end.”
As the gaps were fairly big, there was no final twist in the last 4 stages. Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena scored their 56th victory in their twenty-first different rally.
“I’m delighted to have won such a tough rally,” smiled Seb before going up onto the podium. “Our second victory in three events has helped us to open up a twenty-five point gap, the equivalent of a victory, over the second-paced driver. We can now tackle the next rally in a reasonably relaxed frame of mind.”
Thanks to Dani Sordo’s and Marc Marti’s fourth place, the Citroën Total World Rally Team has taken the lead in the Manufacturers’ World Championship. Frédéric Banzet, the make’s general manager, who was there to cheer on the Citroën crews, underlined the performance of the C4 WRCs in this rally:
“Our cars had to cope with particularly difficult road conditions in hot weather, and they again showed bullet-proof reliability. Our crews combined speed and intelligence to give Citroën a status-enhancing result.”
THE RALLY IN FIGURES
Fastest times in the stages
Day 1 – SS1 and 2: Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Focus) – SS3: Dani Sordo (Citroën C4) – SS4: Petter Solberg (Citroën C4) – SS5: Latvala – SS6: P. Solberg – SS7: Sébastien Loeb (Citroën C4).
Day 2 – SS8: Loeb – SS9 : P. Solberg – SS10 and 11: Loeb – SS12: P. Solberg – SS13: Loeb.
Day 3: SS14: Loeb – SS15: P. Solberg – SS16 and 17: Loeb – SS18: Latvala – SS19: Loeb – SS20: Latvala – SS21: Ogier.
Best performers: Loeb, 9 fastest times – P. Solberg and Latvala, 5 – Sordo and Ogier, 1.
Leaders: SS1 and 2: Latvala – SS3: Sordo – SS4 to 10: Latvala – SS11: Loeb and Latvala – SS12 to
21: Loeb.
Final overall classification (subject to scrutineering)
1. Loeb / Elena Citroën C4 3h46’08’’5
2. Latvala / Anttila Ford Focus +35’’8
3. P. Solberg / Mills Citroën C4 +1’11’’8
4. Sordo / Marti Citroën C4 +1’49’’3
5. Wilson / Martin Ford Focus +8’24’’3
6. Ogier / Ingrassia Citroën C4 +10’26’’4
7. Villagra / Perez Companc Ford Focus +11’28’’0
8. Räikkönen / Lindström Citroën C4 +12’31’’0
9. H. Solberg / Minor Ford Focus +14’08’’6
10. Pons / Haro Ford Fiesta +18’33’’9
(ends)
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Miles Williams
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Citroen Australia / Mob: 0419 800 520
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EJR/ejr/957
4/4/2010