The final day of the 2008 Rallye Deutschland, round 10 of this year's World Rally Championship, produced a resounding one-two finish for the C4 WRCs of Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Martí. In addition to taking Citroën and Sébastien Loeb clear at the top of their respective points tables, the result of this all-asphalt fixture, which has always been happy hunting ground for the French squad, extends the team's unbeaten record in Germany to eight wins, including that of Philippe Bugalski/Jean Paul Chiaroni with their Xsara WRC in 2001. It is also Citroën's seventh victory this season and its 49th WRC success in total, which makes it the third most successful carmaker in the history of world class rallying.
The short last leg of this year's event featured just 84.97km of stages divided into two identical loops of two stages, plus the super-special through the streets of host town Trier which rounded off the day. The Citroën pair's 100% stage-winning record over the first two days (13 for Seb, and one for Dani) meant they had enough breathing space to be able to control from in front. Meanwhile, although the Rallye Deutschland is famed for its fickle weather, this year's visit ended as it had started – in bright sunshine – and the two Citroën C4 WRC crews were able to slip into a fast but safe pace all the way to the finish.
"A fortnight ago, in Finland, we were the outsiders but we managed to come out on top," recalls Olivier Quesnel. "Here, on the contrary, everybody saw us as favourites and that put us under a certain amount of pressure. I am proud to say, however, that everyone at Citroën Sport rose superbly to the occasion and played their part in securing our first one-two finish of the year as the championship enters its final phase. That's an encouraging result for the battles ahead.
“Sébastien and Daniel produced an impeccable run, while Dani and Marc put in a solid performance to claim second overall and bring us more valuable points. Our cars and crews have a strong record on the Rallye Deutschland and another outstanding performance this time round has taken us to the top of the Manufacturers' championship. Sébastien has moved ahead in the Drivers' standings, too, so it's been an excellent weekend on all fronts. That said, we can't afford to just sit back and relax now, and we'll all be back at work tomorrow because we've got a busy few months ahead of us…"
The same sense of a job well done predominated in the cockpit of the C4 of the defending World Champions who today collected their seventh straight win in Trier, taking their career total to 43 world class wins to establish two new records. "After beating our main rival on his home event, we had no intention of letting anybody else take victory in Germany," smiled Sébastien Loeb. "Our C4 WRC handled perfectly impeccably from start to finish and we got our tyre calls right every time, switching from the Pirelli 'Soft' and 'Hard' options as a function of the conditions. I had an excellent feeling with my car over all the different types of terrain we encountered here and that meant we were able to push hard from the word go and then consolidate our position. It's fantastic to have won here again in Trier where French spectators always turn out in big numbers. It's also a positive result for us in the Drivers' championship because it means we have recovered the lead, so we have plenty of reasons to be delighted with our weekend!"
"I am very pleased to have finished second," concluded Dani Sordo. "The Rallye Deutschland isn't my favourite asphalt event because its format doesn't let you settle into a real rhythm, but it was very nice to be back on sealed surface stages. We were a bit unsure about our set-up to begin with but the work of the Citroën technical team gave us a perfect car for Saturday morning. From that moment on, we were able to up our pace and I had tremendous fun driving and running in second position. Our result gives Citroën a one two finish and our overall points haul takes us to the top of the Manufacturers' standings, so that's clearly a result! I've moved up one place in the Drivers' points table, too, and we must now knuckle down to try to repeat the same sort of performance."
The long second day of the 2008 Rallye Deutschland concluded this evening with the two Citroën Total C4 WRCs sitting on the top two steps of the overnight podium and in a strong position to pull off a handsome medals haul tomorrow. Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, who emerged in front after SS1 on Friday, spent the day comforting their lead, while Dani Sordo/Marc Martí brilliantly recovered second spot before setting about pulling further clear of the driver in third place.
With a competitive distance of 159.76km on the programme, today's action accounted for almost half of the event's total stage mileage and was based on a format of four tests to be covered once in the morning and then again in the afternoon. The group's first three stages snaked through the Saarland region near Sankt Wendel, before a remote service zone in Birkenfeld followed by the infamous Panzerplatte test across the Baumholder military ranges.
The mood of both Citroën C4 WRC crews was buoyant after the morning's loop: "Today's terrain was very different from yesterday's, but the conditions stayed dry again," reported Sébastien Loeb at the lunchtime break. "We got off to a good start and my C4 WRC is handling just as nicely as it did on Friday. Thanks to the work of everyone in the team, we also got the morning's two tyre calls spot on, namely Pirelli 'Softs' for the three stages up to the remote service zone, then 'Hards' for the harder-wearing tank-testing tracks. The result was excellent. We have pulled even further clear of our main rival in the World Championship and Dani and Marc are holding second place, so that's all very positive. We just had one scary moment this morning when we brushed a hay-bail that formed part of a chicane in one particularly fast portion. It wasn't in the same position as it was during recce."
Dani Sordo and Marc Martí effectively profited from the day's opening loop to recover provisional second with their C4 WRC. "I reverted to a set-up with which I felt much more comfortable," explained the Spanish youngster. "My car performed much better and I was more confident, so it was easier to push hard! We reclaimed second place after SS7 and we then set about consolidating our position. There's still a long way to go today, but it's been a great start."
The afternoon's loop did nothing to change the order at the leaderboard's sharp end, except for the fact that the Double Chevron pair succeeded in pulling even further clear. "The best way to stay concentrated is to keep pushing," said the reigning World Champion. "The stages are cleaner than in previous years and I have the utmost confidence in my C4, so it was best to keep going at the same pace and try to build up some more breathing space for tomorrow. We've rarely had such a dry Rallye Deutschland and everything has gone very well so far. If the order stays the same all the way to the finish after tomorrow's five stages, it will be an excellent result for us and the team in the two championships."
Dani and Marc echoed their team-mate's thoughts: "Prior to this afternoon's loop, our closest chaser was 14.4 seconds behind us," calculated Dani. "Our lead is now up to 1m 4s. We didn't push quite so hard second round, but that didn't stop us from making the most of the potential of our C4 over this terrain, although I have to say that this really isn't my favourite asphalt event; there are far too many junctions! It's been a positive day and along with the Citroën Sport technical staff we succeeded in finding a set-up which suited me perfectly."
"I couldn't be more pleased than I am this evening," admitted Olivier Quesnel. "Both Citroën C4 WRCs performed faultlessly and our two crews succeeded in making maximum use of their potential. Sébastien and Daniel continued in the same vein as yesterday and Dani and Marc lost no time recovering second place. We could be on for a top result tomorrow, but we need to stay concentrated until the very end…"
The first day of this weekend's Rallye Deutschland, round 10 of the 2008 World Rally Championship, turned out to be particularly successful for the Citroën Total squad which saw both its C4 WRCs finish on the overnight podium. Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena are on the highest step, with Dani Sordo and Marc Martí following in third place.
The opening leg featured a menu of three stages to be contested twice each, split only by a lunchtime visit to the service park in Trier. The 108.16km of competitive action took competitors over the twisty roads that snake through the vineyards on the banks of the Moselle River, classic territory for the German round.
Following their success on the home soil of their main championship rivals in Finland, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena had no intention of being caught by surprise this morning as they started the Rallye Deutschland, an event they have dominated for the past six years. They kicked off at the same fast pace that earned them the spoils in Jyväskylä!
"The conditions stayed dry all day," explained Sébastien. "I immediately felt comfortable with my car and I was able to push hard from the outset. By choosing the soft compound Pirelli tyre, I knew I would have to adapt my driving style and be on my guard all the time, especially where there were changes in the amount of grip available. It also gave my confidence a big boost, though, and I made the most of that to pull out an early gap. On dry asphalt, it's not easy to build up big leads, so I was naturally pleased to see that we were 15.3 seconds clear at the end of the first loop."
Dani Sordo and Marc Martí were just as pleased with their morning's run in the second Citroën Total C4 WRC: "I gradually started to find my marks on asphalt again," reported Dani. "I made a few small adjustments to my set-up between stages to try to adapt it as closely as possible to the conditions. It would have been nice to have felt a little more comfortable with the soft compound tyres, but I know where I lost time. I will try to make the most of the second loop to defend second place."
The weather forecasters of Météo France Sports, one of the technical partners of Citroën's 2008 programme, predicted that rain wouldn't upset the afternoon's stages, so both Double Chevron crews set of in a relaxed frame of mind ready for the rest of the day's action…
"I decided to keep the same set-up as this morning and stay on soft rubber, and that paid off," said Seb who claimed the fastest time on all today's stages. "Running on soft tyres over roads soiled by the first pass, we were able to make the most of our C4's potential to increase our lead. It's been a very positive day, but a gap of 19.9s isn't yet sufficient to start thinking in terms of controlling from in front. I have an excellent feeling with my car and that will be important for tomorrow's tough, long leg."
Dani chose hard compound tyres for the afternoon, and also ran a harder set-up compared with this morning. He did his best to defend his position on the two stages that were covered, but the last test of the day was neutralized. The young Spaniard was looking for a better feeling in the slippery conditions but succeeded in staying close to the driver in second place, despite a small mistake at a junction. His objective tomorrow will be to challenge for silver, which would naturally be an excellent result for both him and Citroën.
"Everyone at Citroën Sport did a splendid job today," commented Olivier Quesnel. "Everyone has been saying that we are the favourites here, but we knew it wouldn't be easy. Sébastien and Daniel have once again shown that this is one of their favourite hunting grounds and they put in an impeccable performance today to build up a handy cushion. Dani and Marc spent some time looking for the ideal set-up and are third this evening with a real chance of improving on that tomorrow. We are aware that nothing is by any means over yet, though. Saturday's leg is very long and could cause some surprises."
