Start of a contrasting day for Citroen… Sordo retires!

The well-known sections of ‘Lalouvesc’, ‘St Bonnet le Froid’, and the slightly modified ‘Lamastre’ from 2007 were on the schedule for the morning loop on this third day. A Citroën C4 WRC dominated these three stages, continuing the momentum established from SS1.

For Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, the outcome upon their return to the service park was positive with an even stronger first place. Forced to stop in ES11 due to a mechanical issue, Dani Sordo and Marc Martí were, on the contrary, disappointed.

Sébastien Loeb: « The grip at dawn, as we opened the road, was more than precarious. I was very cautious in the first two stages to successfully navigate the many traps. The last stage of the morning, on the other hand, was completely dry, which allowed me to push to the limit. I was thus able to test the performance of our Pirelli PZero on this dry surface and collect valuable information. »

Dani Sordo: « I was very happy with my start to the stage. The small issues encountered yesterday afternoon were resolved, and my C4 WRC was once again working perfectly. I approached the day with caution nevertheless, as the roads were very slippery, and one could easily be caught off guard. The situation became complicated during the last morning stage when a warning light came on in the car. I preferred to stop and call the team to see if there was anything to be done. After the car returns to the service area, we will decide if I will restart or not in superally tomorrow. »

According to a Citroën Sport press release