LOEB HEADS THIRD STRAIGHT 1-2 FINISH AS CITROËN UNVEILS C4 WRC HYmotion 4
Sébastien Loeb led Citroën Total to its third consecutive one-two finish in Spain this weekend, and pulled further into the lead of the FIA World Rally Championship just as the wraps were coming off a radical new C4 WRC hybrid concept.
Loeb and his co-driver, Daniel Elena, dominated, leading from lights to flag in their Citroën C4 WRC to score their ninth victory of 2008. Team-mates Dani Sordo and co-driver Marc Marti shadowed Loeb home to complete Citroën’s third one-two finish in Catalunya.
Citroën is as successful in producing ‘green’ cars as it is in winning rallies and visitors to the Paris Motor Show witnessed the unveiling of the C4 WRC HYmotion4, which merges the C4’s multi-championship winning technology with a Hybrid petrol electric powerplant.
While retaining its world-beating performance on the rally stages, the C4 WRC HYmotion4 can also stay true to Citroën’s environmental commitment by switching to silent, emission-free electric power on untimed runs between stages.
Loeb and Elena are now 12 points ahead of Mikko Hirvonen in the WRC standings, with three rallies remaining and Citroën is 27 points ahead in the Manufacturers’ championship.
Commenting on the rally, Sébastien explained “The stages we contested on day three were narrow, the asphalt was in a fairly poor state and it was quite bumpy, so we took special care not to pick up a puncture, I had to adapt the way I drove to manage the rate of wear on our Pirelli tyres. But we didn’t make any mistakes and our C4 WRC performed impeccably from start to finish.”
Sébastien’s next challenge will be this weekend (Oct 10-12) on the French island of Corsica.
Final positions 1. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen C4 3hr 21min 17.4sec 2. D Sordo/M Marti ESP Citroen C4 3hr 21min 42.3sec 3. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 22min 19.9sec 4. F Duval/P Pivato BEL Ford Focus RS 3hr 22min 28.2sec 5. P Solberg/P Mills NOR Subaru Impreza 3hr 24min 44.8sec 6. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 25min 21.2sec 7. C Atkinson/S Prévot AUS Subaru Impreza 3hr 25min 22.3sec 8. A Mikkelsen/O Floene NOR Ford Focus RS 3hr 26min 37.0sec 9. M Wilson/S Martin GBR Ford Focus RS 3hr 29min 00.6sec 10 B Tirabassi/F Gordon FRA Subaru Impreza 3hr 30min 22.4sec
Drivers 1. S Loeb 96pts 2. M Hirvonen 84pts 3. D Sordo 59pts 4. C Atkinson 42pts 5. J-M Latvala 37pts 6. P Solberg 36pts
Manufacturers 1. Citroen Total 159pts 2. BP Ford Abu Dhabi 132pts 3. Subaru 80pts 4. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford 55pts 5. Munchi's Ford 22pts 6. Suzuki 20pts
Stage Times
Stage 13: 1. Duval 10min 32.8sec; 2. Sordo + 2.3; 3. Loeb + 3.7; 4=. Latvala, Mikkelsen + 5.5; 6. Atkinson + 6.4; 7. Hirvonen + 6.9; 16. Al Qassimi + 24.7.
Overall: 1. Loeb 2hr 33min 33.7sec; 2. Sordo + 26.3; 3. Duval + 47.7; 4. Hirvonen + 1:07.8; 5. P Solberg + 3:11.2; 6. Aava + 3:12.0; 24. Al Qassimi + 19:10.0.
Stage 14: 1. Loeb 15min 49.1sec; 2. Sordo + 1.2; 3. Duval + 3.2; 4. Hirvonen + 5.0; 6. P Solberg + 10.8; 6. Aava + 12.2; 16. Al Qassimi + 56.5.
Overall: 1. Loeb 2hr 49min 22.8sec; 2. Sordo + 27.5; 3. Duval + 50.9; 4. Hirvonen + 1:12.8; 5. P Solberg + 3:22.0; 6. Aava + 3:24.2; 24. Al Qassimi + 20:06.5.
Stage 15: 1. Sordo 2min 37.3sec; 2. Hirvonen + 0.5; 3. Aava + 1.2; 4. Loeb + 1.9; 5. Duval + 2.3; 6. Atkinson + 2.6; 18. Al Qassimi + 2.50.9.
Overall: 1. Loeb 2hr 52min 02.0sec; 2. Sordo + 25.6; 3. Duval + 51.3; 4. Hirvonen + 1:11.4; 5. P Solberg + 3:23.4; 6. Aava + 3:23.5; 24. Al Qassimi + 20:18.2.
Stage 16: 1. Hirvonen 10min 32.7sec; 2. Latvala + 1.4; 3. Sordo + 2.2; 4. Loeb + 5.1; 5. Aava + 5.5; 6. Mikkelsen + 5.7; 8. Duval + 8.1; 15. Al Qassimi + 21.9.
Overall: 1. Loeb 3hr 02min 39.8sec; 2. Sordo + 22.7; 3. Duval + 54.3; 4. Hirvonen + 1:06.3; 5. Aava + 3:23.9; 6. P Solberg + 3:26.8; 23. Al Qassimi + 20:35.0.
Stage 17: 1. Hirvonen 15min 53.9sec; 2. Loeb + 1.8; 3. P Solberg + 3.1; 4. Sordo + 4.3; 5. Latvala + 5.6; 6. Atkinson + 6.4; 7. Duval + 20.2; 16. Al Qassimi + 54.3.
Overall: 1. Loeb 3hr 18min 35.5sec; 2. Sordo + 25.2; 3. Hirvonen + 1:04.5; 4. Duval + 1:12.7; 5. P Solberg + 3:26.1; 6. Latvala + 4:03.5; 21. Al Qassimi + 21:27.5.
Stage 18: 1. Hirvonen 2min 39.9sec; 2. Duval + 0.1; 3. Atkinson + 0.5; 4. P Solberg + 1.3; 5. Sordo + 1.7; 6. Loeb + 6.4; 7. Duval + 20.2; 16. Al Qassimi + 13.6.
Overall: 1. Loeb 3hr 21min 17.4sec; 2. Sordo + 24.9; 3. Hirvonen + 1:02.5; 4. Duval + 1:10.8; 5. P Solberg + 3:27.4; 6. Latvala + 4:03.8; 21. Al Qassimi + 21:39.1
