Back to square one for Citroen in Japan

The second stage for Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena mirrored today’s weather in the Obihiro region: grey. In the third special stage of the morning, the crew of the Citroën C4 WRC number ‘1’ went off the road. Stopped in their fight for victory, they find themselves in the same situation as before the ‘Catalunya’. For the “Reds,” the comforting ray of sunshine came from Dani Sordo/Marc Martí, who placed their Citroën C4 WRC in second place in the provisional standings this evening.

With 146.68 kilometers to race against the clock, this second day of the fourteenth round of the 2007 World Rally Championship was the longest of the weekend. A loop of four special stages was to be completed twice, with the second round being shortened by 17.76 km in the ‘Sipirkakim’ stage. In the late afternoon, at 6:00 PM and 6:10 PM, two laps of the Obihiro superspecial served as the conclusion to this marathon that the Citroën Sport team began around… 3:30 AM!

The first run in the ‘Niueo’ special stage, the thirteenth on the schedule, didn’t present any particular difficulties. Lurking in second place, just 10.5 seconds behind the leader, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena still had every chance of making an excellent performance in the “Drivers” Championship. A crash early in this timed event dashed their hopes…

With Marcus Grönholm’s withdrawal yesterday, explained Sébastien, even by finishing second, we had the opportunity to score important points and regain the advantage in the Championship. The changes made by the team yesterday allowed me to regain confidence in the Citroën C4 this morning. Without adopting a kamikaze pace, I hadn’t given up on the idea of trying to catch up with the leader. At the start of a right turn, Daniel made a mistake while announcing the note. We arrived too quickly, hit a tree with the rear left, and went off the road. The front was resting on branches, while the rear was still on the road. Despite our efforts, it was impossible to get the car back on the road, even though it had practically nothing. It’s a big disappointment, but it doesn’t rule out our chance for the title. We are very motivated by the idea of having to win the two remaining races to try to clinch it.

Since the service park, Guy Fréquelin had a hard time hiding his disappointment: « Due to a note-calling error, Sébastien and Daniel went off the road. If they had finished second here, they could have settled for second places in Ireland and Great Britain to become champions. Now, they are obliged to win at these two events. We are back to the same point as before Catalonia… except there are only two races left instead of five! Mistakes are human. The Japan rally, with its time difference, timing, and difficult stages, is conducive to this. It’s Daniel’s first mistake in ten years. I advised him to forget it, to look ahead, and to think about the important deadlines awaiting them. »

On the second car of the Citroën Total team, Dani Sordo and Marc Martí had a great second stage. “With the mud, it wasn’t easy,” explained Dani. “The grip was constantly changing. However, I managed to adopt a fast and safe pace that allowed us to achieve good performances. There is one day left to deepen my knowledge of this type of conditions while trying to maintain my second place…”

Citroen Sport Press Release