Stage 3 – Loeb and Sordo secure the double! Gronholm threatened

Mission accomplished for the Reds. With Sébastien Loeb as the winner and Dani Sordo in second place at the finish of the Rally of Spain, the French driver bridges part of his gap on Marcus Grönholm. Stage 3

It only took one special stage for Sébastien Loeb in the Citroën to prove untouchable at the Rally RACC Catalunya – Costa Daurada. After a challenging first time trial won by Marcus Grönholm in a Ford, the Citroën driver adjusted the settings of his C4 WRC to take the lead by the second stage.

« It’s important for the championship, » admitted the Frenchman. « I hope we can do the same at other asphalt events… »

Only Dani Sordo managed to match his teammate thanks to a good tire choice, but in Pratdip, the last stage of the first day, the rally was decided in 26 kilometers.

« We did a good job and we beat Gronholm. It wasn’t easy and I’m happy to have done it, » commented the Spaniard in front of his supporters.

On roads that were sometimes damp, sometimes soaked, Sébastien Loeb outclassed all his opponents. Regaining the lead with more than ten seconds ahead of Dani Sordo, the Alsatian pushed Marcus Grönholm and Mikko Hirvonen (Ford) back by more than fifty seconds at the end of the first stage.

« I lost 34 seconds in the rain on Friday. I didn’t feel confident with the car to drive on the asphalt with smooth and hard tires… I was being too cautious. » Admitted Gronholm, disappointed.

« Now we hope for a better result in Corsica. I was second last year, and if all goes well we can do the same thing, at the minimum. »

The remainder of the rally, contested on dry roads, is straightforward for all the teams. Between Sébastien Loeb’s standout performance in SS6 and the finish, the top twelve did not change positions!

Behind the two C4 WRC and the two Focus WRC, François Duval (Citroën OMV) was unable to repeat his German feat. Whether on wet roads or dry, the Belgian and his Xsara WRC could not compete with the more recent cars.

Petter Solberg (Subaru) settles for sixth position ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Stobart) and Chris Atkinson (Subaru), all in the points.

« The car seems to be working better, » commented Solberg. « I’m sure the next event will be better.

« We still have a few tricks up our sleeves and I think we can have an advantage. I am satisfied with the progress we made today. » He concluded.

In front of his supporters, Xevi Pons (Subaru) finishes in ninth place ahead of Henning Solberg (Ford Stobart), Matthew Wilson (Ford Stobart), and Thomas Schie (Ford), in this very fixed top 12.

Manfred Stohl (Citroën OMV) was the only driver to make a mistake. The Austrian destroyed his Xsara WRC, which will have to be replaced for Corsica!

In the Junior category, PG Andersson (Suzuki) secures a crucial victory ahead of Martin Prokop (Citroën) and Urmo Aava (Suzuki). The two Swifts will head to Ajaccio – for the final event of the category – with the same number of points!

It’s already time to leave Salou to head to Ajaccio for the Rallye de France – Tour de Corse, which will start on Friday! Sébastien Loeb has six points to catch up and four events to compete in. Suspense!

See the Ranking after Stage 3

According to the WRC