A storming drive to second place by Sébastien Loeb backed by a determined fourth place from Carlos Sainz in the Xsara WRC cars has taken Citroën a step closer to retaining their title as world rally champions.

The two Citroën drivers added a further 13 points boosting Citroën’s tally to 150, now 38 ahead of nearest rival Ford with just four rounds of the 2004 championship to go.

6.3 seconds separated Loeb from rally winner, Petter Solberg, a result which keeps Loeb very much on track for his first ever world drivers championship crown.

His excellent form throughout 2004 has seen him notch up five victories and three seconds as a string of impressive performances has earned him  92 points, 28 ahead of second placed Sollberg. 

Sébastien  commented “I would lie if I said I’m not disappointed with the final result in the Rally GB. But I’m happy about two things : I was extremely close to winning the event thanks to my Xsara, and with two second places in a row, I still have all my chances for the title.”

Overall Classification Wales Rally GB1. P. Solberg/Ph. Mills (Subaru Impreza)  3 h 42 min 39,5 s 2. S. Loeb/D. Elena (Citroën Xsara)   + 6,3 s3. M. Märtin/M. Park (Ford Focus)   + 2 min 53,7 s4. C. Sainz/M. Marti (Citroën Xsara)   + 3 min 42,1 s5. F. Duval/S.Prevot (Ford Focus)   + 4 min 51,3 s6. H. Rovanperä/R. Pietiläinen (Peugeot 307)  + 6 min 44,9 s7. M. Hirvonen/J. Lehtinen (Subaru Impreza)  + 7 min 08,3 s8. M. Stohl/I. Minor (Peugeot 206)   + 10 min 20,1 s9. N. Vouilloz/D. Giraudet (Peugeot 206)  + 15 min 12,3 s10. A. Warmbold/G. Price (Ford Focus)   + 15 min 49,3 s

FIA World Manufacturers’ Rally Championship **1. Citroën, 150 points – 2. Ford, 112 pts - 3. Subaru, 91 pts – 4. Peugeot, 76 pts

FIA World Drivers’ Rally Championship **1. S. Loeb, 92 points – 2. P. Solberg, 64 pts - 3. M. Märtin, 59 pts - 4. C. Sainz, 55 pts - 5. M. Grönholm, 47 pts - 6. F. Duval, 43 pts – 7. M. Hirvonen, 23 pts - 8. H. Rovanperä, 20 pts – 9. J. Tuohino, 16 pts – 10. F. Loix, 7 pts