CITROEN STRENGTHENS ITS GRIP ON THE WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP WITH A FOURTH
WIN FOR LOEB
info thanks to Ateco
Citroen has strengthened its grip on the 2004 World Rally Championship with
Sébastien Loeb scoring his fourth win of the season in Turkey at the
weekend (25-27 June 2004) giving the young French driver a nine point lead
in the drivers' championship and, combined with team mate Carlos Sainz'
fourth place, Citroen now leads the manufacturers' title chase with a
margin of 15 points.
For once being first on the road on Day One, the role of championship
leader, was not a disadvantage for Loeb. Heavy rain made the stages a mud
slide and the loose gravel that normally has to be cleared by the lead
driver gave Loeb a grip advantage and he went into the second day with a
healthy lead over a hard charging Markus Gronholm, who was determined to
reverse his early-season poor form. Championship challenger Marku Martin
had a miserable day when his Focus charged through a water splash and then
wouldn't start for an agonising 40 minutes, while world champion Petter
Solberg suffered body work damage in another water splash, which it being
mid-summer, most teams had expected to be bone-dry.
On day two a jumped start landed Loeb a ten second penalty and the lead to
Gronholm. But Loeb fought back hard during the day and had the lead back by
the end of the day. Gronholm also suffered the strangest accident of the
day when a steel bar, apparently in the ground on the stage, punch a hole
through the floor of his 307. Luckily neither crew member was injured.
Although Loeb entered Day Three in the lead, it was a tough battle for the
talented, but young Frenchman to keep the experienced Gronholm at bay,
while Solberg's Subaru was always lurking in the background waiting for
either car in front to falter. But even when Loeb finished the final stage
as winner, the drama was not over. As his finishing the road section to the
final service park, one of the rear wheels on his Citroen Xsara locked. So
the enterprising Loeb stopped, took the wheel off and entered the final
service area on three wheels! Quickly fixed by his service crew, it was
then on to the winner's podium for the fourth time this season.
In addition to this thrilling finale, Carlos Sainz' strength of will should
also be highlighted. On Saturday, he suffered from sun stroke and
dehydration to the point where the medical staff even hesitated to let him
drive again, but for Carlos "he-who-never-gives-up" Sainz this was simply
out of the question. He started again. It is only when he stopped for the
overnight halt that he admitted to team boss Guy Fréquelin: "At some
points, I thought I couldn't do it !"
"The Xsaras' set-up was very good from the start," said team director Guy
Fréquelin. "The cars were perfect, along with the Michelin tyres and the
drivers felt extremely confident to attack. I am also very satisfied with
our tyre choices especially when we chose the soft compound in the mud for
the first stages on Friday. We knew Sébastien was able to be the fastest on
gravel, and I am not surprised he's demonstrated that. I'm very happy for
him and Daniel. Carlos has once again showed what a unique Champion he is.
Tonight I'm very proud of my team!"
Stage wins
Leg 1. SS1 : Markko Märtin (Ford Focus) - SS2 and 3 : Sébastien Loeb
(Citroën Xsara) - SS4 : Harri Rovanperä - SS5 : Carlos Sainz (Citroën
Xsara) - SS6 : Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot 307) - SS7 : Petter Solberg (Subaru
Impreza).
Leg 2. SS8 : S.Loeb - SS9 : M. Grönholm - SS10 and 11 : S. Loeb - SS12 and
13 : P. Solberg.
Leg 3. SS14 : M.Grönholm - SS15: S. Loeb and P. Solberg - SS16 and 17 : P.
Solberg.
Best performers
S. Loeb, 6 fastest times - P. Solberg, 6 - M. Grönholm, 3 - M. Märtin, 1 -
H. Rovanperä, 1 - C. Sainz, 1.
Successive leaders
SS1 : M. Märtin - SS2 to 8 : S. Loeb - SS9 and 10 : M.Grönholm - SS11 to 17
: S. Loeb.
Overall classification for the Rally of Turkey*
1. S. Loeb/D. Elena (Citroën Xsara) 4 h 48min 26,8 s
2. M. Grönholm/T. Rautiainen (Peugeot 307) + 26,2 s
3. P. Solberg/Ph. Mills (Subaru Impreza) + 36,7 s
4. C. Sainz/M. Marti (Citroën Xsara) + 2 min
49,3 s
5. F. Duval/S.Prevot (Ford Focus) + 4 min 26,8 s
6. M. Hirvonen/J. Lehtinen (Subaru Impreza) + 6 min
01,1 s
7. J. Tuohino/J. Aho (Ford Focus) + 11 min 44,9 s
8. A. Warmbold/G.Price (Ford Focus) + 21 min 15,3 s
9. S.Yazici/C. Okan (Ford Focus) + 21 min 40,8 s
10. G. Galli/G. D'Amore (Mitsubishi Lancer) + 32 min 08,9 s
FIA World Manufacturers' Rally Championship *
1. Citroën, 80 pts - 2. Ford, 65 pts - 3. Subaru, 59 pts - 4. Peugeot, 47
pts - 5. Mitsubishi, 11 pts.
FIA World Drivers' Rally Championship *
1. S. Loeb, 53 points - 2. P. Solberg, 44 pts - 3. M. Märtin, 34 pts - 4.
M. Grönholm, 32 pts - 5. C. Sainz, 24 pts - 6. F. Duval, 23 pts - 7. M.
Hirvonen, 13 pts - 8. J. Tuohino, 12 pts - 9. H. Rovanperä, 10 pts - 10. D.
Carlsson, 6 pts - 11. F. Loix, 4 pts - 12. G. Panizzi, 4 pts - 13. M.
Stohl, 3 pts - 14. H. Solberg, 3 pts - 15. J. Välimäki, 2 pts - 16. A.
Ginley, 2 pts - 17. A. Warmbold, 1 pt - 18. M. Campos, 1 pt - 19. O. Burri
et A. Vovos, 1 pt.
* subject to FIA final results publication.
WIN FOR LOEB
info thanks to Ateco
Citroen has strengthened its grip on the 2004 World Rally Championship with
Sébastien Loeb scoring his fourth win of the season in Turkey at the
weekend (25-27 June 2004) giving the young French driver a nine point lead
in the drivers' championship and, combined with team mate Carlos Sainz'
fourth place, Citroen now leads the manufacturers' title chase with a
margin of 15 points.
For once being first on the road on Day One, the role of championship
leader, was not a disadvantage for Loeb. Heavy rain made the stages a mud
slide and the loose gravel that normally has to be cleared by the lead
driver gave Loeb a grip advantage and he went into the second day with a
healthy lead over a hard charging Markus Gronholm, who was determined to
reverse his early-season poor form. Championship challenger Marku Martin
had a miserable day when his Focus charged through a water splash and then
wouldn't start for an agonising 40 minutes, while world champion Petter
Solberg suffered body work damage in another water splash, which it being
mid-summer, most teams had expected to be bone-dry.
On day two a jumped start landed Loeb a ten second penalty and the lead to
Gronholm. But Loeb fought back hard during the day and had the lead back by
the end of the day. Gronholm also suffered the strangest accident of the
day when a steel bar, apparently in the ground on the stage, punch a hole
through the floor of his 307. Luckily neither crew member was injured.
Although Loeb entered Day Three in the lead, it was a tough battle for the
talented, but young Frenchman to keep the experienced Gronholm at bay,
while Solberg's Subaru was always lurking in the background waiting for
either car in front to falter. But even when Loeb finished the final stage
as winner, the drama was not over. As his finishing the road section to the
final service park, one of the rear wheels on his Citroen Xsara locked. So
the enterprising Loeb stopped, took the wheel off and entered the final
service area on three wheels! Quickly fixed by his service crew, it was
then on to the winner's podium for the fourth time this season.
In addition to this thrilling finale, Carlos Sainz' strength of will should
also be highlighted. On Saturday, he suffered from sun stroke and
dehydration to the point where the medical staff even hesitated to let him
drive again, but for Carlos "he-who-never-gives-up" Sainz this was simply
out of the question. He started again. It is only when he stopped for the
overnight halt that he admitted to team boss Guy Fréquelin: "At some
points, I thought I couldn't do it !"
"The Xsaras' set-up was very good from the start," said team director Guy
Fréquelin. "The cars were perfect, along with the Michelin tyres and the
drivers felt extremely confident to attack. I am also very satisfied with
our tyre choices especially when we chose the soft compound in the mud for
the first stages on Friday. We knew Sébastien was able to be the fastest on
gravel, and I am not surprised he's demonstrated that. I'm very happy for
him and Daniel. Carlos has once again showed what a unique Champion he is.
Tonight I'm very proud of my team!"
Stage wins
Leg 1. SS1 : Markko Märtin (Ford Focus) - SS2 and 3 : Sébastien Loeb
(Citroën Xsara) - SS4 : Harri Rovanperä - SS5 : Carlos Sainz (Citroën
Xsara) - SS6 : Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot 307) - SS7 : Petter Solberg (Subaru
Impreza).
Leg 2. SS8 : S.Loeb - SS9 : M. Grönholm - SS10 and 11 : S. Loeb - SS12 and
13 : P. Solberg.
Leg 3. SS14 : M.Grönholm - SS15: S. Loeb and P. Solberg - SS16 and 17 : P.
Solberg.
Best performers
S. Loeb, 6 fastest times - P. Solberg, 6 - M. Grönholm, 3 - M. Märtin, 1 -
H. Rovanperä, 1 - C. Sainz, 1.
Successive leaders
SS1 : M. Märtin - SS2 to 8 : S. Loeb - SS9 and 10 : M.Grönholm - SS11 to 17
: S. Loeb.
Overall classification for the Rally of Turkey*
1. S. Loeb/D. Elena (Citroën Xsara) 4 h 48min 26,8 s
2. M. Grönholm/T. Rautiainen (Peugeot 307) + 26,2 s
3. P. Solberg/Ph. Mills (Subaru Impreza) + 36,7 s
4. C. Sainz/M. Marti (Citroën Xsara) + 2 min
49,3 s
5. F. Duval/S.Prevot (Ford Focus) + 4 min 26,8 s
6. M. Hirvonen/J. Lehtinen (Subaru Impreza) + 6 min
01,1 s
7. J. Tuohino/J. Aho (Ford Focus) + 11 min 44,9 s
8. A. Warmbold/G.Price (Ford Focus) + 21 min 15,3 s
9. S.Yazici/C. Okan (Ford Focus) + 21 min 40,8 s
10. G. Galli/G. D'Amore (Mitsubishi Lancer) + 32 min 08,9 s
FIA World Manufacturers' Rally Championship *
1. Citroën, 80 pts - 2. Ford, 65 pts - 3. Subaru, 59 pts - 4. Peugeot, 47
pts - 5. Mitsubishi, 11 pts.
FIA World Drivers' Rally Championship *
1. S. Loeb, 53 points - 2. P. Solberg, 44 pts - 3. M. Märtin, 34 pts - 4.
M. Grönholm, 32 pts - 5. C. Sainz, 24 pts - 6. F. Duval, 23 pts - 7. M.
Hirvonen, 13 pts - 8. J. Tuohino, 12 pts - 9. H. Rovanperä, 10 pts - 10. D.
Carlsson, 6 pts - 11. F. Loix, 4 pts - 12. G. Panizzi, 4 pts - 13. M.
Stohl, 3 pts - 14. H. Solberg, 3 pts - 15. J. Välimäki, 2 pts - 16. A.
Ginley, 2 pts - 17. A. Warmbold, 1 pt - 18. M. Campos, 1 pt - 19. O. Burri
et A. Vovos, 1 pt.
* subject to FIA final results publication.
