WRC Rd 5 - Loeb takes the lead

Sebastien Loeb dominated the Italian round of the World Rally Championship at the weekend (29 April - 1 May), guiding his Citroen Xsara to victory over Petter Solberg by nearly a minute and in the process taking over the lead in the World Rally Championship from the Subaru driver. Loeb's domination of the rally of Sardinia - he lead from stage three to the end of the event and scored twice as many stage wins as his nearest rival - was achieved through the reliability of his Citroen Xsara, an excellent choice of tyres and a skilful and well paced drive from the Frenchman. Team mate Francois Duval managed to score manufacturers points despite a first-day roll off the track into the bush that left his Xsara on its side and minus a rear wheel. Following repairs and a re-start, he went on to finish in 11th place.

Despite his domination and entering the final day with nearly a minute's lead, it was not a done-deal for Loeb. The last leg had no service area visit during the day, so reliability was essential, as was an accident free day, and Solberg was on one of his infamous hard-charges, trying to make up lost time.

"There was no wind and, like everyone else, I was hampered by the fairly thick cloud of dust thrown up by the preceding cars," said the reigning World Champion at the finish. "I therefore lifted each time I had to and pushed hard as soon as the conditions allowed. The car was perfect. In the following stages, I was careful not to make any mistakes while keeping a close eye on the times of my closest chaser, Petter Solberg. Winning back to back in New Zealand and here in Sardinia has put us back in the lead of the championship and promises some exciting battles to come!"

Following two disappointing results, the Citroen team is now back on track in its battle to hold on to the drivers' and manufacturers' World Rally Championship titles it won in 2004.

Final positions Rally Italia Sardinia.

1. S Loeb (Fra) / D Elena (Mon) - Citroen Xsara 4hr 06min 33.7sec 2. P Solberg (Nor) / P Mills (GB) - Subaru Impreza +0.59.6 3. M Grönholm (Fin) / T Rautiainen (Fin) - Peugeot 307 +2:07.3 4. M Märtin (Est) / M Park (GB) - Peugeot 307 +4:12.3 5. T Gardemeister (Fin) / J Honkanen (Fin) - Ford Focus RS +8:29.3 6. R Kresta (Cz) / J Možný (Cz) - Ford Focus RS +9:29.2 7. A Warmbold (D) / M Orr (GB) - Ford Focus RS +9:59.8 8. J Pykalisto (Fin) / M Ovaskainen (Fin) - Citroen Xsara +10:21.2

FIA World Rally Championship (after round 5 of 16) Drivers Championship Points: 1. S Loeb 35pts 2. P Solberg 34pts 3. M Märtin 28pts 4. M Grönholm 26pts 5. T Gardemeister 24pts 6. H Rovanperä 11pts

ManufacturersChampionship Points: 1. Peugeot 54pts 2. Citroen 43pts 3. Subaru 36pts 4. Ford 33pts 5. Mitsubishi 24pts 6. Skoda 5pts

Odds for World Title following the race: S Loeb 1.90 P Solberg 2.20 M Martin 11.00 M Gronholm 11.00 T Gardemeister 21.00 F Duval 101.00 H Rovanpera 126.00

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