McRae to Replace Loeb in the Kronos Citroën Xsara WRC in Turkey

Brussels, 3 October 2006 - Kronos Total Citroën announced earlier today that Colin McRae has been selected to replace Sébastien Loeb (who suffered a broken arm in a mountain bike accident last week) behind the wheel of the Xsara WRC in the forthcoming Rally of Turkey (12-15 October).

Colin McRae commented: “It was a shock to hear about Seb’s accident and Ican only imagine how he must be feeling at this time, especially being so close to a third world title. However I am delighted to have been chosen to replace Seb for the Rally of Turkey and am looking forward to having the opportunity to drive for the Kronos Total Citroen WRT, back behind the wheel of the Citroen Xsara WRC. The challenge will be to protect the positions of both Seb in the drivers and Kronos Total Citroën in the manufacturers championships, by preventing the opposition taking advantage of Seb’s temporary absence. Together with Nicky Grist, who will once again be my codriver, we will do our utmost to help Loeb and the team in their efforts to secure the 2006 WRC titles”.

Colin McRae (38) is one of the most successful rally drivers in history. The Scot has won 25 WRC events and was World Rally Champion in 1995. Colin has of course already driven the Citroen Xsara WRC in 2003, when he was a member of the Citroën manufacturers team alongside Sébastian Loeb and Carlos Sainz. That year, Colin claimed points in all but three of the WRC events. Colin’s last participation in a WRC rally was in Australia last year, driving a Škoda Fabia WRC 05.