WRC round 8 - the Acropolis Rally

Sebastien Loeb dominated the final day of the Acropolis Rally here today, winning the Greek round of the World Rally Championship for his fifth win in a row, with Citroen Xsaras finishing first and third and putting the French marque into the lead in the manufacturers championship table too. Such was the French driver's control of what is traditionally the toughest event of the season, that on the longest day of the event, Sébastien Loeb put in the fastest time on every single stage and finished the event more than one and a half minutes ahead of his nearest rival. Joining Loeb on the podium at the finish with a fine third place was team mate Carlos Sainz, climbing up on to the podium for a remarkable 97th time from 196 WRC starts. Symbolically, as this will be his last WRC event, this is also the place that Sainz recorded the first of his world record 26 wins.

With six wins in his 2005 account, Sébastien Loeb now leads the driver's championship by 23 points and the weekend's work by Loeb and Sainz has put Citroen back at the top of the Manufacturer's title chase.

Loeb's performance was not just fast, it was mature, with the Frenchman resisting to start the event with the gung-ho performance that brought a number of his rivals to grief on day one. Then on the last day, with a massive lead, he brought the Citroen home and into the record books.

"I lifted over the rocky ruts of 'Dikastro' and, over the last two stages, which were very badly cut up in places, I really took it easy. I wasn't even flat out along some straights over the pebbles towards the end of 'Perivoli'! Five wins in a row? It hasn't really sunk in yet," added the defending World Champion. "All I know for the moment is that thanks to the team's efforts to give us perfect cars and also thanks to Michelin, this rally has been extremely positive in view of both title chases. We know we're not invincible and this winning run will come to an end one day but, if we want to extend it, we cannot afford to relax and next week we will be back out testing."

Loeb's latest exploit will undoubtedly go down in rallying history. The last Frenchman to win the Acropolis Rally was Didier Auriol in 1992. The last French car to finish on top here was the Peugeot 205 in 1986, while you have to go back to Jean-Luc Thérier's success with Alpine in 1973 to find the last win for a Frenchman in Greece driving a French car.

Carlos Sainz had no reason to regret succumbing to the friendly pressure applied by Citroen team boss Guy Fréquelin to compete in Greece.

"A month and a half ago, I was following Citroën's results in the press and phoning up every now and again for a friendly chat. I didn't have the slightest idea I would soon find myself back competing with the Xsara WRC. It's been a fantastic weekend! I am proud to have succeeded in meeting the objective Guy set me, and proud to have scored valuable points in both events. The team is back on top of the championship and I hope it will stay there. They deserve it. As for me, I have finished my career in world class rallying on the podium of the event that gave me my first WRC win. What more could a sportsman ask for?"

Citroën's CEO Claude Satinet was naturally delighted with the successful outcome of what he calls the "Carlos operation". "It succeeded beyond our hopes because Carlos came back as competitive and meticulous as ever, with the same will to win. In short, the same professionalism and the same great personality! I am very, very happy that his effort has been rewarded with yet another podium finish," said Claude Satinet at the finish.

Guy Fréquelin was beaming as he personally congratulated all the members of his team one by one: "Our current sequence of wins and our return to the top of the Manufacturers' points table are down to the talent of our crews, Seb and Daniel and Carlos and Marc, but also to the untiring work of Citroën Sport and its partners, notably Michelin. I am also very happy with the top-ten finish of Xavier Pons and the times set by Manfred Stohl with their privately-entered, Kronos-run Xsaras. They illustrate the speed and reliability of the products Citroën gives its customers."

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