Back to square one!

With two rounds left the FIA World Rally Championship looks like it’s heading for a thrilling climax!

Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, who have led the drivers’ title chase since Rally
Mexico, were caught in the French event. Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia are riding shotgun three points behind the leaders, so Citroën can count on a second crew.

Rally Spain could provide the Citroën Total World Rally Team with a great opportunity to clinch its seventh title in the Manufacturers’ World Championship.

Organized on tarmac since its inclusion on the WRC calendar in the early 90s, Rally Catalunya changed its orientation last year. The Spanish round became a mixed event with the first day on gravel followed by two days on tarmac reviving a type of rally that had disappeared from the championship. In theory, this shouldn’t pose any particular problems for the cars and engineers, all the more so as the current crop of World Rally Cars uses many common components for the gravel and tarmac versions. In addition, the Friday evening service time will be extended to 75 minutes – compared to 45 in normal conditions – to give the mechanics enough time to modify the cars’ setup.

For the leader of the world championship, being first out on the road on the first leg will be even more of a handicap than in the 100% gravel rallies. Sébastien Loeb, the joint leader in the overall classification with Mikko Hirvonen, will once again have this doubtful privilege because of his higher number of victories.

“If the weather’s dry, it’s never good being first out on the road when it’s a question of gravel,” anticipated the seven-time world champion. “I run the risk of finding myself well behind on Friday evening. But on tarmac on the following stages those in front won’t be handicapped in turn. For me the strategy is very simple – flat out from start to finish!”

Although luck seems to have deserted the Citroën Total World Rally Team driver since his stunning victory in Rally Finland, he remains optimistic: “I’d have preferred it if the last three rallies had worked out differently, but the fact is that today we’ve got our backs to the wall. It’s all the better for the sport! I know that Hirvonen’s going to go for broke. I’ve also got a few aces up my sleeve like my Citroën DS3 WRC, which has given the team victory in nine out of the eleven rallies this season. I also won the two remaining events in 2008, 2009 and 2010. All these factors reinforce my confidence. This kind of situation has always swung in our favour in the past, and it’s up to us to do everything so that we stay on the winning trail in the weeks to come!”

The Citroën Total World Rally Team can also count on Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, who have closed the gap to the leaders to three points after their success in Rally France.

“Our fifth victory of the season was a peak moment for us as we won our national rally and scored our second win on tarmac,” said Ogier. “I’ve got no illusions where the drivers’ world championship’s concerned. Normally, it should boil down to a fight between Seb and Mikko. But our position means that the team can play off two against one. For Rally Spain, our objective will be to score the points that will help Citroën win the manufacturers’ world championship.”

To clinch its seventh title the Citroën Total World Rally Team needs to leave Spain with a lead of 43 points over its closest rival. The gap currently stands at 54 points.