CITROËN BLITZES THE OPPOSITION IN GERMANY
Citroën has strengthened its grip on the 2004 World Rally Championship with
a commanding win by Sébastien Loeb in his Citroën Xsara at the German round
of the WRC at the weekend (20-22 August 2004), his third consecutive win
the German Rally, his six win this season and Citroën's seventh victory.
Sébastien Loeb now has 29 point advantage over second placed Marko Martin
in the drivers' championship, while Citroen heads Ford by an equal 29 point
margin for the manufacturers' championship.
Citroën lead the Rally of Germany from start to finish, first in the hands
of Carlos Sainz, who finished third overall and from stage two, Sébastien
Loeb. But this is not say it was an easy rally across the tank training
grounds and vineyards around Trier. The rally will be remembered for the
atrocious weather conditions, which made the first two days of the event so
difficult.
The Rally of Germany is almost a local event for Sébastien Loeb, coming as
he does from just across the border in France, so thousands of fans poured
across the border to watch the young Frenchman claim his third German
crown.
"2002 was the very first WRC win of my career, so of course it was quite
unforgettable. Last year's was important, as it was so close. This year,
the gap might have been wider, but the road conditions could have ended it
all out at any moment," commented Loeb after a rally that saw reigning
world champion Petter Solberg spectacularly demolish his Subaru as he
battled to keep up with Loeb.
"So I have never really won easily here! It's a rally where you have to
both push and be patient, and that was even more true than ever this year.
And you must be careful in such precarious conditions," explained Loeb.
Germany is not Carlos Sainz favourite event, so have three podium finishes
reconciled "El Matador" to an event among vineyards and tank traps?
"Almost!" Carlos replies with a smile. "Marc and I have claimed our third
podium in a row, thanks to both the team's excellent work and to our
unyielding determination to overcome the conditions on this event. We are
now third in the championship, and as well as the position, I am quite
naturally very satisfied to see that I am still able to be up with the
best."
Team manger, Guy Fréquelin is happy with the team's success, but took
nothing for granted in Germany
"It was not easy," Guy Fréquelin admitted. "In this event, it would have
been simple for a team to make a mistake in tyre choices. We came out
rather well. It would have been easy for the drivers to go off the road.
They were able to avoid the potential traps, completing the event with
driving that was as brilliant as it was intelligent. It was vital for us
not to be over-confident on the tarmac and really on it being a Citroen
strength. We defended position and kept our strong hold on the
championships. We are now in a good position in both championships. We are
more keen than ever to keep our hold of it all but there is still a long
way to go!"
(ends)
Stage wins
Leg 1. SS1 : Carlos Sainz (Citroën Xsara) - SS2 and 3 : François Duval
(Ford Focus) - SS4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 : Sébastien Loeb (Citroën Xsara).
Leg 2. SS9 : notional time - SS10 : F. Duval - SS11 : Markko Märtin (Ford
Focus) - SS12 : notional time - SS13 : Armin Schwarz (Skoda Fabia) - SS14 :
S. Loeb - SS15 : Freddy Loix (Peugeot 307) - SS16 : S. Loeb - SS17 : Cédric
Robert (Peugeot 307).
Leg 3. SS18 : F. Loix - SS19 : F. Duval - SS20 : C. Robert - SS21, 22 and
23 : F. Duval - SS24 : S. Loeb.
Best performers*
S. Loeb, 8 fastest times - F. Duval, 7 - F. Loix, 2 - C. Robert, 2 - C.
Sainz, 1 - M. Märtin, 1 - A. Schwarz, 1 - Notional times, 2.
Successive leaders
SS1 : C. Sainz - SS2 to 24 : S. Loeb
Overall classification OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland**
1. S. Loeb/D. Elena (Citroën Xsara) 4 h 01 min
57,4 s
2. F. Duval/S. Prevot (Ford Focus) + 29,1 s
3. C. Sainz/M. Marti (Citroën Xsara) + 1
min 09,5 s
4. M. Märtin/M. Park (Ford Focus) + 2 min
40,4 s
5. C. Robert/G. Bedon (Peugeot 307) + 3 min
30,1 s
6. F. Loix/S. Smeets (Peugeot 307) + 4 min 06
s
7. T. Gardemeister/P. Lukander (Skoda Fabia) + 5 min
44,2 s
8. M. Hirvonen/J. Lehtinen (Subaru Impreza) + 6
min 41,1 s
9. S. Sarrazin/P. Pivato (Subaru Impreza) + 6 min
58,9 s
10. A. Bengué/C. Escudero (Peugeot 206) + 10 min
26,7 s …
* Stage times of the competitors who re started after having retired thanks
to the SupeRally regulations trial, are not taken into account in these
statistics.
FIA World Manufacturers' Rally Championship **
1. Citroën, 125 points - 2. Ford, 96 pts - 3. Subaru, 67 pts - 4. Peugeot,
65 pts - 5. Mitsubishi, 17 pts.
FIA World Drivers' Rally Championship **
1. S. Loeb, 76 points - 2. M. Märtin, 47 pts - 3. C. Sainz, 46 pts - 4. P.
Solberg, 44 pts - 5. M. Grönholm, 42 pts - 6. F. Duval, 39 pts - 7. M.
Hirvonen, 19 pts - 8. J. Tuohino, 16 pts - 9. H. Rovanperä, 14 pts - 10. F.
Loix, 7 pts - 11. D. Carlsson, 6 pts - 12. G. Panizzi, 6 pts - 13. C.
Robert, 4 pts - 14. M. Stohl, 3 pts - 15. J. Paasonen, 3 pts - 16. H.
Solberg, 3 pts - 17. L. Perez Companc, 3 pts - 18. T. Gardemeister, 3 pts -
19. J. Välimäki, 2 pts - 20. A. Ginley, 2 pts - 21. A. Warmbold, 1 pt - 22.
M. Campos, 1 pt - 23. O. Burri, A. Vovos et G. Pozzo, 1 pt.
** Classements officieux jusqu'à leur validation par la FIA.
For further information:
Citroën Australia Media Web Site: http://media.ateco.com.au/
Citroën has strengthened its grip on the 2004 World Rally Championship with
a commanding win by Sébastien Loeb in his Citroën Xsara at the German round
of the WRC at the weekend (20-22 August 2004), his third consecutive win
the German Rally, his six win this season and Citroën's seventh victory.
Sébastien Loeb now has 29 point advantage over second placed Marko Martin
in the drivers' championship, while Citroen heads Ford by an equal 29 point
margin for the manufacturers' championship.
Citroën lead the Rally of Germany from start to finish, first in the hands
of Carlos Sainz, who finished third overall and from stage two, Sébastien
Loeb. But this is not say it was an easy rally across the tank training
grounds and vineyards around Trier. The rally will be remembered for the
atrocious weather conditions, which made the first two days of the event so
difficult.
The Rally of Germany is almost a local event for Sébastien Loeb, coming as
he does from just across the border in France, so thousands of fans poured
across the border to watch the young Frenchman claim his third German
crown.
"2002 was the very first WRC win of my career, so of course it was quite
unforgettable. Last year's was important, as it was so close. This year,
the gap might have been wider, but the road conditions could have ended it
all out at any moment," commented Loeb after a rally that saw reigning
world champion Petter Solberg spectacularly demolish his Subaru as he
battled to keep up with Loeb.
"So I have never really won easily here! It's a rally where you have to
both push and be patient, and that was even more true than ever this year.
And you must be careful in such precarious conditions," explained Loeb.
Germany is not Carlos Sainz favourite event, so have three podium finishes
reconciled "El Matador" to an event among vineyards and tank traps?
"Almost!" Carlos replies with a smile. "Marc and I have claimed our third
podium in a row, thanks to both the team's excellent work and to our
unyielding determination to overcome the conditions on this event. We are
now third in the championship, and as well as the position, I am quite
naturally very satisfied to see that I am still able to be up with the
best."
Team manger, Guy Fréquelin is happy with the team's success, but took
nothing for granted in Germany
"It was not easy," Guy Fréquelin admitted. "In this event, it would have
been simple for a team to make a mistake in tyre choices. We came out
rather well. It would have been easy for the drivers to go off the road.
They were able to avoid the potential traps, completing the event with
driving that was as brilliant as it was intelligent. It was vital for us
not to be over-confident on the tarmac and really on it being a Citroen
strength. We defended position and kept our strong hold on the
championships. We are now in a good position in both championships. We are
more keen than ever to keep our hold of it all but there is still a long
way to go!"
(ends)
Stage wins
Leg 1. SS1 : Carlos Sainz (Citroën Xsara) - SS2 and 3 : François Duval
(Ford Focus) - SS4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 : Sébastien Loeb (Citroën Xsara).
Leg 2. SS9 : notional time - SS10 : F. Duval - SS11 : Markko Märtin (Ford
Focus) - SS12 : notional time - SS13 : Armin Schwarz (Skoda Fabia) - SS14 :
S. Loeb - SS15 : Freddy Loix (Peugeot 307) - SS16 : S. Loeb - SS17 : Cédric
Robert (Peugeot 307).
Leg 3. SS18 : F. Loix - SS19 : F. Duval - SS20 : C. Robert - SS21, 22 and
23 : F. Duval - SS24 : S. Loeb.
Best performers*
S. Loeb, 8 fastest times - F. Duval, 7 - F. Loix, 2 - C. Robert, 2 - C.
Sainz, 1 - M. Märtin, 1 - A. Schwarz, 1 - Notional times, 2.
Successive leaders
SS1 : C. Sainz - SS2 to 24 : S. Loeb
Overall classification OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland**
1. S. Loeb/D. Elena (Citroën Xsara) 4 h 01 min
57,4 s
2. F. Duval/S. Prevot (Ford Focus) + 29,1 s
3. C. Sainz/M. Marti (Citroën Xsara) + 1
min 09,5 s
4. M. Märtin/M. Park (Ford Focus) + 2 min
40,4 s
5. C. Robert/G. Bedon (Peugeot 307) + 3 min
30,1 s
6. F. Loix/S. Smeets (Peugeot 307) + 4 min 06
s
7. T. Gardemeister/P. Lukander (Skoda Fabia) + 5 min
44,2 s
8. M. Hirvonen/J. Lehtinen (Subaru Impreza) + 6
min 41,1 s
9. S. Sarrazin/P. Pivato (Subaru Impreza) + 6 min
58,9 s
10. A. Bengué/C. Escudero (Peugeot 206) + 10 min
26,7 s …
* Stage times of the competitors who re started after having retired thanks
to the SupeRally regulations trial, are not taken into account in these
statistics.
FIA World Manufacturers' Rally Championship **
1. Citroën, 125 points - 2. Ford, 96 pts - 3. Subaru, 67 pts - 4. Peugeot,
65 pts - 5. Mitsubishi, 17 pts.
FIA World Drivers' Rally Championship **
1. S. Loeb, 76 points - 2. M. Märtin, 47 pts - 3. C. Sainz, 46 pts - 4. P.
Solberg, 44 pts - 5. M. Grönholm, 42 pts - 6. F. Duval, 39 pts - 7. M.
Hirvonen, 19 pts - 8. J. Tuohino, 16 pts - 9. H. Rovanperä, 14 pts - 10. F.
Loix, 7 pts - 11. D. Carlsson, 6 pts - 12. G. Panizzi, 6 pts - 13. C.
Robert, 4 pts - 14. M. Stohl, 3 pts - 15. J. Paasonen, 3 pts - 16. H.
Solberg, 3 pts - 17. L. Perez Companc, 3 pts - 18. T. Gardemeister, 3 pts -
19. J. Välimäki, 2 pts - 20. A. Ginley, 2 pts - 21. A. Warmbold, 1 pt - 22.
M. Campos, 1 pt - 23. O. Burri, A. Vovos et G. Pozzo, 1 pt.
** Classements officieux jusqu'à leur validation par la FIA.
For further information:
Citroën Australia Media Web Site: http://media.ateco.com.au/