RALLY OF FINLAND
FINAL : SEBASTIEN LOEB ANOTHER PODIUM
After a trouble-free final leg, Sébastien Loeb, Daniel
Elena and their Citroen Xsara WRC took an excellent second
place on the awe-inspiring Rally Finland, just as they did
last year. The reigning two-time World Champions have therefore
continued a remarkable unbroken series. For the 10th time
in 10 rallies this year, the Kronos Total Citroen team leaders
have been on either the top or the middle step of the podium.
«I won’t pretend that I didn’t want to
win this rally, but that plan didn’t quite work out,
» said Seb, who was greeted enthusiastically by the
Kronos team at final service. «While there’s no
shame in giving best to Marcus Grönholm on his home territory,
I still feel a bit disappointed. What I will remember about
this event is the fact that my Xsara has taken yet another
step forward, thanks to all the hard work from Citroen Sport’s
development team. The car’s stability has got even better,
and its handling is more precise now. It really gave me a
lot of confidence. I don’t think we have ever been so
close to Marcus here : thanks to a big attack and a trouble-free
run we were able to beat him for the first time on the Ouninpohja
stage. So now we know it’s possible – and we know
as well just how much effort we need to put in to get there…
»
« As for the championships, we leave Germany and Finland
having increased our lead in the drivers’ series by
two points, » continued the Citroen driver. «That’s
really good news, as we have got two more rallies out of the
way now. I’d like to thank Dani [Sordo], who finished
between me and Marcus in Germany… »
Marc Van Dalen, principal of Kronos Racing, was equally pleased
with his team’s progress in the manufacturers’
championship. « Our magnificent run of results continues,
» he said. « Thanks to the competitiveness and
reliability of the Sébastien-Daniel-Kronos-Xsara package
we maintain the same gap to our closest rivals as we did after
the Acropolis Rally. The other very positive point is the
speed with which Dani Sordo has adapted to these stages, which
are undoubtedly amongst the most difficult of the entire championship,
on his first drive here in a World Rally Car. Unfortunately,
Dani wasn’t able to get to the finish – and neither
was Xevi Pons, who was also forced into retirement. Both drivers
were victims of their inexperience, falling prey to the sort
of traps that often catch out even the local drivers. I know
that Dani and Xevi have learnt a few lessons from their adventures,
which will certainly help them a lot for the future. I still
have total confidence in both of them, and I am very pleased
that our entire team has showed their support so unanimously…
»
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