The Citroen clan optimistic: “we have already turned the page”
At the end of the third and final stage of the Japan Rally, the fourteenth round of the 2007 World Championship, Dani Sordo/Marc Martí placed their Citroën C4 WRC on the second step of the podium. Restarting today thanks to the superally rule, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena took advantage of the opportunity to conduct […]
At the end of the third and final stage of the Japan Rally, the fourteenth round of the 2007 World Championship, Dani Sordo/Marc Martí placed their Citroën C4 WRC on the second step of the podium. Restarting today thanks to the superally rule, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena took advantage of the opportunity to conduct tests with the other Citroën C4 to prepare for the upcoming Great Britain Rally.
The final day of the fourth ‘Rally Japan’ offered 97.33 kilometers of special stages, divided into two loops of three timed events and a last run in the Obihiro superspecial. However, the schedules (waking up at 3:30 am!), the road sections (290.42 km), and the low temperatures (5°C) today have definitively ranked this leg among the most challenging of the year.
After their off-road incident yesterday in the 13th stage, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena set off this morning with the goal of preparing for the next gravel round. “With the technical team of Citroën Sport,” explained the Frenchman.
« We have decided to take advantage of the conditions that are quite similar to those in Wales to conduct tests and thus refine the setup of our C4 WRC. »
« With Daniel, we have already turned the page on our mistake from the day before. We are very aware of the challenge we need to try to overcome to retain our title. Nothing is lost and we are extremely motivated at the start of the next two events. »
« I would like to congratulate Dani Sordo and Marc Martí for their excellent race in complicated conditions », concluded Guy Fréquelin.
They managed to make it through the fog, rain, mud, and ice. Given Dani’s lack of experience, this podium is a great reward. I hope they achieve the same type of result at the next event in Ireland. It could be of great help to Sébastien. The very good potential of our car on this tricky terrain is the other positive point of the weekend. It would have been even better if Sébastien and Daniel could have fully capitalized on Marcus Grönholm’s withdrawal. Since both our team and Marcus retired, the situation remains the same as before the Japan rally except there are only two races left. Seb and Daniel have to win them to be Champions. Everything is still possible. If the challenge we have to face is significant, the motivation driving our teams and the entire Citroën Sport team to achieve this is even more so…
According to a Citroen press release