RALLY OF GERMANY
FINAL : LOEB WINS AND EQUAL SAINZ
The two Kronos Total Citroen WRC Xsaras got through the four
stages of the final day without the slightest problem. Sebastien
Loeb/Daniel Elena won the Rallye Deutschland for the fifth
consecutive time, becoming the first crew ever to achieve
such a feat on the full World Championship. Their excellent
win, after a rally which they dominated from the start, is
the 26th in total for the Franco-Monegasque pairing. Seb now
joins Carlos Sainz as the most successful driver in the history
of the sport.
«I love the Rallye Deutschland and it has always been
good to me, » said a delighted Seb at the finish. «
But it’s fair to say that the traditionally complex
weather makes it quite a stressful experience. There was a
bit of extra pressure on top as well : I had to make sure
I made no mistakes on my home territory and score the maximum
number of points for the championship. Now it’s over
and I can relax a bit ! I want to really savour the feeling
of equalling Carlos Sainz’s record number of wins. I’ve
never hidden the fact that this is a record I really wanted,
because of the immense respect I have for Carlos and his career.
Yet it’s still a benchmark I want to beat… »
«We had an entirely clean and trouble-free run, »
added Seb. «We didn’t make any
mistakes and the team didn’t put a foot wrong either,
particularly when it came to tyre choice – whether it
was performance we were after, like Friday, or safety like
today and yesterday. We’re heading to Finland on a very
positive note now. Marcus [Grφnholm] wanted to beat
me here in Germany : now it’s my turn to try and make
life difficult for him in his back yard… »
Directly behind the double World Champions, Dani Sordo/Marc
Marti answered all expectations by ensuring the team a precious
one-two. It was the first time that the Spanish crew were
nominated to score manufacturer points. The reigning Junior
World Champion was as free of mistakes as his team leader,
while showing an impressive turn of speed. He was understandably
delighted, saying : « Citroen Sport has done a fantastic
job : the new car with mechanical differentials was really
good to drive in the very tricky road conditions we encountered
– which I was facing for the first time at the wheel
of a World Rally Car… »
« Marc Van Dalen and the entire Kronos team showed
a lot of faith in me by nominating me to score points, »
continued Dani. « I am really pleased to thank them
by bringing back the maximum possible number of points. I’m
also really pleased to see that my pace notes – made
last year when I was driving the C2 Super 1600 – worked
perfectly. I’d like to thank Marc [Marti] who has always
pushed me to get my notes absolutely right. Finally, I’d
like to thank Seb. He has been incredibly good to me, and
his advice on tyres and set-up is a huge help. »
Kronos Racing team principal Marc Van Dalen commented
:« Once more, everything worked perfectly.
The Citroen Sport development team has enabled us to find
a set-up which is as easy to drive as it is effective. Kronos,
with the help of BFGoodrich and Meteo France, has been able
to get the best out of the Xsara. Our second one-two of the
season makes me really happy, and we also have the pride of
seeing Seb equal the highest number of victories in the World
Championship and the Xsara rack up its 30th World Championship
success. Xevi Pons was sadly not too happy here. Our objective
for him today was to rebuild his confidence. The times he
set this morning show that this mission was accomplished.
So everything here is a great source of motivation to us as
we prepare for the massive challenge that is Rally Finland
next weekend… »
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