Citroën and Sordo finish with honours in France

Fighting for the lead since Friday morning, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena missed out on a fitting finale to their career at the Rallye de France Alsace. Also consistently among the front-runners, Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio claimed Citroën Racing’s best result in placing their DS3 WRC second on the podium.

Featuring around fifty kilometres of timed stages, day four of the Rallye de France Alsace provided few opportunities to open up or close the gaps. But with just five seconds covering the top four, Jari-Matti Latvala, Dani Sordo, Sébastien Ogier and Sébastien Loeb nonetheless had to push all the way to try and grab the win. Faced with wet road conditions, the crews opted for soft compound Michelin Pilot Sport tyres for the remaining six stages.

A few moments after Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena had set off into the Cleebourg vineyards, the monitors showed the surreal image of the no.1 DS3 WRC upturned on its roof at the side of the road. Astonishment and disbelief were gradually replaced with the realisation that they were out of the rally. “We weren’t far off line… I think I carried a little bit too much speed into a quick right-hand turn. When I braked, we lost the rear end and we dropped into the ditch before rolling the car. Obviously, I had set off with the intention of pushing to try and win the rally. I’d have preferred to make it to the end, and if possible win the rally, by it’s just part and parcel of racing. It’s a shame for the team and for the fans that were waiting to see me in Haguenau. My overriding memory will still be of what a great scrap we had with Dani, Jari-Matti and Sébastien.”

The fans in Haguenau were afforded some consolation when their champion came to greet them before the start of SS20. Alongside Daniel Elena, Seb drove a DS3… Cabrio over the stage held in the streets of his home town.

With Loeb out, Citroën’s chances of victory therefore rested exclusively with Dani Sordo. Although he managed to get ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala, the Spaniard was unable hold off Sébastien Ogier, who took the lead after the day’s first stage. Whilst building up a little bit of cushion over Latvala, the Abu Dhabi Citroën Total World Rally Team driver kept up pressure on the leader. His efforts proved to be in vain, however, as he remain second: “I’m above all disappointed for Seb. It would have been a fitting end to the party if he had been able to stay in the fight to the end. As far as I’m concerned, I’m pretty pleased with how the rally went, although I can’t be entirely satisfied to finish as runner-up. I drove well and didn’t make any mistakes, but sometimes I was just a bit short on confidence depending on the road conditions.”

Scrapping with Mads Østberg throughout the final day, Mikko Hirvonen finished the rally in sixth place: “Once again, we have had some very difficult conditions and I didn’t feel really comfortable. The only positive thing I can take from the rally is having made it to the end without damaging the car. But I have some work to do to try and understand why I was so far off the pace of the leading guys.”

“The points scored by the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT this weekend leave us with only a very slim chance of winning the Manufacturers’ title,” admitted Yves Matton, Citroën Racing Team Principal. “But we can have no regrets. The gaps were so small that we had to push to try and win the rally. Seb and Daniel gave it their best shot – it just didn’t work out for them. But that shouldn’t overshadow what has been an incredible career. Thanks to the many tens of thousands of fans who turned up to pay tribute to our champions. We’ll all remember the enthusiasm and the excitement surrounding the team at this Rallye de France for a long time to come.”