Citroen and Loeb take the WRC lead after Mexican victory

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Citroen and Loeb take the WRC lead after Mexican victory

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March 6, 2006 It seemed inevitable that Sebastien Loeb would find his way back to the head of 2006 world rankings following a 2005 season that was the most dominant on record. Following a win in the third round of the WRC in Mexico, Loeb has now regained the series lead and it would be a brave move to bet against him for the title. In the end, the Citroen driver had a thrilling fight to the finish with Subaru’s Petter Solberg to finally take the Rally of Mexico at the weekend (3-5 March 2006). Loeb got off to a steady start on Friday sweeping the roads clean for the benefit of Petter Solberg amongst others, but still hung on grimly to limit the deficit to just a half a minute. The next step was to make up the time lost, reducing the gap to a combative Solberg. It was only on Saturday night, after SS13, that Seb found any sort of breathing space after very tightly fought battle with Subaru driver that turned the event into a two horse race. The final phase of the victory plan, which took place on Sunday, consisted of a precise control of the lead, a painstaking task in which Loeb excels. All victories taste sweet, but for Seb – sheltering under a sombrero at the finish – this one was special.

“To start with, it’s the first win that I have the pleasure of sharing with the Kronos team,” he explained. “Also, I’ve won a rally that has not been kind to me in the past. Finally, it’s been a win that I’ve had to go out and grab by the scruff of the neck. The tight battle makes this victory really worth it. Also, it’s put us at the top of the championship. In other words, everything is good!”

The same joy was shared by Dani Sordo, who finished just off the podium in fourth place in his first gravel event in the Citroën Xsara WRC. “How do I describe it?” he commented. “Fourth place is fantastic in itself. Added to that is the satisfaction of having had a good feeling with the Xsara on gravel, setting some decent times, and having made only one mistake – a spin at the start of the rally. Also, I have the knowledge that next I am going to drive the Xsara on asphalt on my home rally – the surface on which I have most experience. So how do you think I feel!” Understandably, emotion ran high for Marc Van Dalen, Kronos Total Citroen team principal. “I feel very proud of our team,” he said. “It’s a big day for Kronos Racing. This win is the result of a complex process that started a long time ago, with the aim of reaching the top. It’s also the reward for all the work we did last year, as well as during the off season, to put our plan for collaboration with Citroen into place, which trusted us and rent us perfect cars. This triumph tastes all the sweeter because it has been given to us by Sébastien and Daniel – an extraordinary duo both in the car and out of it. Now we must not rest: we have to keep working and build on our success!”

For Solberg, the eight points kick-started his campaign for the 2006 drivers’ title as they were his first championship points of the season. Solberg blazed through the final three stages of the rally and set the fastest time on the penultimate test, clearly demonstrating the rally winning potential of the new Subaru Impreza WRC2006.

"I am very, very happy with the result of this rally,” said Solberg. “Of course we set out to win but when that wasn't possible we kept pushing for second. I went flat out on Leg one to get a gap and it was unlucky to pick up the problem on the second day, but I tried hard to keep the time loss to a minimum. It was always going to be difficult to make up the time, but the car was very fast with everything working well. We showed that there is definitely more to come. It's good to finally get some points and now I want more. It will be close and I'm going to give it everything."

Chris Atkinson secured a double points finish for the team. In his first full year of WRC, Atkinson started the Leg in tenth position, moved up three places in the first stage and maintained the position until the finish. "The rally has been pretty good for us”, said the Aussie. “Of course it’s unfortunate that we hit the rock and then had the problem after that, otherwise I think we could have made the podium. We proved that the pace is right, it’s just unfortunate we weren’t able to translate it into a better result. It’s a tough sport. It’s some consolation that we got seventh overall and some useful points for me and for Subaru. We can take plenty of positives from this rally."

"We came here looking for victory but the way the rally ran we must be satisfied with the positions of both Petter and Chris,” said SWRT Sporting Director, Luis Moya. “Petter did a very good job this weekend and eight points moves him a step closer to his championship goal. We are happy to see that the performance of the car on gravel is good. We should not forget that most of the championship is contested on this surface. After the disappointment on the first day, Chris used the rally to learn more about the conditions and we have been impressed by his pace and consistency."

Ford World Rally Team drivers Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen and team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen both claimed points finishes on the Rally Mexico, maintaining the Ford teams incredible record of over 50 consecutive points finishes. Grönholm recovered from a first day crash to finish eighth in his Ford Focus RS World Rally Car while Hirvonen bounced back from rolling on day #2 to take 15th in a similar car. The result maintains the team's record of scoring points on every world rally since the start of the 2002 season.

Both BP-Ford pairings retired from the leg after their accidents but returned the following day under SupeRally regulations to complete this demanding three-day event, the third round of the FIA World Rally Championship 2006. Grönholm fought back from 22nd to claim drivers' and manufacturers points while Hirvonen secured the final manufacturers' point. Ford now lies second in the standings and Grönholm holds second in the drivers' championship.

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