LOEB FLIES TO VICTORY IN TURKEY!
The planes may not be flying in Europe, but that did not stop Sébastien Loeb flying his Citroën C4 WRC to victory in the Turkish round of the 2010 World Rally Championship with massive 85 metre jump on the final day to secure his third successive win of the season.
The six time World Champion got off to a slow start in the event, letting his fellow Citroën C4 drivers Petter Solberg and Sebastian Ogier set the pace until Ogier suffered puncture and let Loeb take over lead on Day Two.
The rain, which everybody feared would fall, did so on Saturday night/Sunday morning. The final day of the event consisted of two passages through a three-stage loop run on earth. The Deniz and Mudarli (SS18 and 19) stages were cancelled as they were impassable.
So the day started with the Ballica (ES20) stage. Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena were first out on the road and took advantage of the damp conditions to set the quickest time. When the crew of the no. 1 C4 WRC arrived back in the Pendik service park, they were still reeling from having made an 85-metre jump!
“It was an incredible sensation as we were up in the air for several seconds,” exclaimed Sébastien Loeb. “In the recce, not for a moment did we imagine that we’d jump so far. We gave ourselves a few more scares, but I had to keep on pushing.”
Dani Sordo took third place in this stage by cashing in on Mikko Hirvonen’s puncture:
“This stage wasreally difficult and we didn’t take any more risks as soon as we learned that Miko was in trouble. It’s good to be back in third but the last stages will also be very tricky.”
Prophetic words as it turned out! As the Deniz and Mudarli stages had dried out a lot in the morning Race Control decided to keep them in thesecond loop. Unfortunately in Deniz 2 (SS21), the Spaniard tripped up in a muddy section:
“I wasn’t the first to go off in that place; it was a real skating rink. The car hit a tree and a wishbone broke. Just behind me, Sébastien Ogier went off in the same spot too, and our cars touched. Unlike us, he was able to restart.”
Loeb tightened his stranglehold on the rally. He set two fastest times before lifting off a little in the final stage, winning Rally Turkey by a comfortable margin from Petter Solberg: “This victory gives me a lot of pleasure, as I won it in a rally where, from a sporting point of view, the outcome of the battle was veryindecisive for a long time. The route was a real challenge with some very quick sections and others inwhich you had to nurse the car. Once again, the reliability of the C4 WRC was a huge help. This third winon the trot has helped us to make the break in the world championship as we now have forty points inhand over our nearest rival.”
THE RALLY IN FIGURES
Fastest times in the stages
Day 1 – SS1: Petter Solberg (Citroën C4) – SS2: Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Focus) – SS3: Sébastien Ogier
(Citroën C4) – SS4: Solberg – SS5 and 6: Ogier – SS7: Sordo – SS8: Solberg – SS9: Loeb.
Day 2 – SS10: Solberg – SS11: Hirvonen – SS12: Ogier – SS13: Solberg – SS14: Loeb – SS15:
Hirvonen – SS16 and 17: Loeb.
Day 3 – SS18 and 19: cancelled – SS20 to 22: Loeb – SS23: Ogier.
Best performers: Loeb, 7 fastest times – Solberg and Ogier, 5 each – Hirvonen, 3 – Sordo, 1.
Leaders: SS1: Solberg – SS2: Hirvonen – SS3 to 14: Ogier – SS15 to 23: Loeb.
Final overall classification (subject to scrutineering)
1. Loeb / Elena Citroën C4 3h01’38’’7
2. P. Solberg / Mills Citroën C4 +54’’5
3. Hirvonen / Lehtinen Ford Focus +1’43’’4
4. Ogier / Ingrassia Citroën C4 +3’46’’0
5. Räikkönen / Lindström Citroën C4 +6’44’’3
6. Villagra / Diaz Ford Focus +7’56’’7
7. Wilson / Martin Ford Focus +8’29’’8
8. Latvala / Antilla Ford Focus +19’44’’2
9. Kuipers / Miclotte Ford Fiesta +23’22’’2
10. Burkart / Kachel Suzuki Swift +27’04’’7
(ends)
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EJR/ejr/963
4/19/2010