Winning in Sweden: It S Snow Problem for Citroën!

WINNING IN SWEDEN: IT’S SNOW PROBLEM FOR CITROËN!

Citroën has broken the Scandinavian strangle hold the Swedish round of the World Rally Championship with Sébastien Loeb becoming the first ever non-Scandinavian to win the snow and ice bound round of the Championship in 54 years of rallying.

With two wins out of two events in the 2004 World Rally Championship, Sébastien Loeb and his Citroën Xsara WRC are also putting their own strangle hold on the Drivers’ Championship title race.

"It is great for me to win here” said Loeb at the end of the rally. “Before the event I didn't really think this was possible, but when we came out of the big fight on day two with the lead, then it was good. It's very good for me to win on a surface that's not asphalt and the snow is very much like gravel, so hopefully this looks good for those events later in the season."

Not only did Loeb end more than five decades of Scandinavian home ground victories, he did it in one of the hardest Swedish Rallies on record. As we as the traditional ice, snow and sub- zero temperatures that make this event such test of man and machine and a gift for the Scandinavians who call this home, day one opened with the more traditional rally elements of mud and gravel after a premature snow melt, making tyre choice a nightmare.

But none of it phased Loeb, who drove a faultless, mature rally, leaving his competition to fall at the wayside. Combined with team mate Carlos Sainz’ fifth place, Citroën – 2003 WRC Manufacturers champion - now lead both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ title chases.

"I think that we showed last year that we are competitive on every surface except snow,” said Team Director Guy Fréquelin. “Now Sebastian and Daniel have shown that the Xsara is not just competitive in this event as well, it can end a fifty year event domination. For Citroen this is an excellent result and places us in the perfect position after two rallies."

Sweden: Day One, Mud and Ice rule

With vivid memories of last year, when after winning the Monte Carlo rally, Sébastien Loeb acted as snow plough for the rest of the field, the Citroën driver was set for a repeat event, but a snow and ice melt down changed everything. So Loeb and Sainz were more than happy to end the day in second and fourth place. There was no question of snow on this first day. The thaw, which had set in over the past few days, robbed the rally of its picture postcard scenery. Luckily, on the first pass through the stages, the drivers encountered either thick ice or mud covered with a thin film of ice. This meant consistent conditions, without the dramatic changes of grip that can so easily catch the Page 2

competitors out. Only the long special stage, Granberget, which was run twice, deteriorated due to the first pass through the test, meaning that the ground showed through the ice in a number of sections. Always classified in the top four of each stage, and finishing the day with a fastest time, Sébastien Loeb was not displeased with his day.

"I was slightly too slow through the first half of the first special stage, before finding the right pace. In the second stage, I went ‘slightly’ too quickly into a right-handed corner, and ended up spinning. Luckily, after going right round, the car was pointing in the right direction. I was ready to get going right away, and this incident only cost me a few seconds. I did not make any mistakes through the Granberget stage, during which we used an identical set of tyres. However, we did lose a bit of time, which I find hard to explain. Finally, we set the best time in the super special, which is good for the motivation. We will try to keep up the same pace tomorrow…” Starting in eighth position on the road, Carlos Sainz was worried that the conditions would have deteriorated. However, this proved not to be the case to his great satisfaction, who set the fastest time in SS2. Having conceded more time that he had expected during SS3, just like Sébastien, Carlos decided to opt for the Michelin GE ‘ ice’ tyres, with ‘sharp’ studs, which had enabled Markko Märtin to set the best time during the first pass through. Unfortunately, the ground had begun to show through the ice, which did not suit the studs, less resistant than the standard ones used by the other competitors. “I broke a lot of studs. The further I went into the stage, the less grip I had !” Carlos lost one place due to this misadventure. However, the Spaniard put his new spare wheel on at the front right to complete the Hagfors Super Special stage and managed to set the second-fastest time, equal with Märtin. At the end of the first day there was great debate over what to do on day two, with the decisions all built around which direction the temperature was going to go. It may have been Sweden in mid winter, but the thermometer was giving few clues.

Sweden: Day Two, Loeb takes charge

After an action-packed day two, Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and their Xsara WRC took the lead on the lead of the Swedish Rally, around fourty seconds ahead of Marcus Grönholm. Carlos Sainz and Marc Marti were lying in fifth position when they returned to Karlstad.

With approximately the same number of kilometres to cover as in the first leg, the day looked like being long and tricky. It kept all its promises, and the long list of mistakes made, including some from the top drivers, aptly illustrated the extreme difficulty posed by this rally to the speeding acrobats who are competing, at an average pace of over 110 kmh. Page 3

To the extreme pleasure of the drivers and the thousands of spectators, it snowed during the night. It did not matter that the sky remained overcast: the temperature stayed around zero degrees, maintaining suitable conditions for the event.

Starting fourth, Carlos Sainz gained one place when Petter Solberg was delayed (SS6). Two stages later, it was his turn to lose time : “In a dip, the front of the car plunged into the snow. It blocked the engine air intake. I had to stop so that my co-driver Marc Marti could clear it. " Carlos slipped down to seventh place, but bad luck had not yet finished with him. In "Lejen" (SS9), he was taken by surprise by Mikko Hirvonen. The young Finn was just getting going again, after having gone off, and had not seen the Xsara approaching. To avoid a collision, the Spaniard turned hard left, nose in the snow bank, and finished by spinning, losing another thirty seconds. Despite this incident, Carlos gained one place, at the expense of young Mikko. With no problems during the last four special stages, Sainz began to make his recovery, setting some excellent times. At the end of the day he was waiting in ambush, just a few tenths of a second behind Tuohino, and has not lost hope of climbing higher in the classification before reaching the finish line.

After the misadventures which befell his Spanish team-mate, Sébastien Loeb found himself caught between the leader, Markko Märtin, and Marcus Grönholm, the Swedish Rally’s three times winner. Having got to grips with the road conditions, different from those encountered yesterday, and with the possibility of leaning against the snow banks, Seb set his first fastest time of the day (SS9), thwarting both Martin’s breakaway and Grönholm’s return. During the next special stage, the Estonian was to make a mistake.

"I inherited the lead,” Seb commented calmly. “I am obviously not going to say that I am not satisfied, but I am not getting over excited about it either. What happened to Markko proves that at the speeds we are driving, it is very easy to make a mistake. I mustn’t lose my concentration to maintain the same pace in order to keep Marcus Grönholm behind me."

It was a case of ‘mission accomplished’ after "Vargåsen", the longest special stage of the day (39.95 km): with another fastest time, Seb increased his margin on Marcus to around 40 seconds. A solid lead, which he will have to maintain with calm and maturity and it is well known that the young French driver does not lack either of these qualities.

Sweden: Day Three, a 54 year reign comes to an end! In the very precarious conditions during the first leg, Seb, who was starting first on the road, was quickly reassured. With a competitive Xsara, and no fresh snow to slow him down, he was in a promising second place by Friday evening. With the pressure growing throughout the second leg, Seb’s fastest time during SS9 put him out of the reach of Marcus Grönholm and closer to the leader, Markko Märtin. His excellent balance and his ability to avoid making mistakes did the rest. Leading after SS11, the French driver strengthened his position with two fastest stage times. Page 4

His final task was to control the rally during the third leg, which he managed with his usual composure.

"I have now claimed my first non-tarmac victory, something I was very keen to do,” said Seb at the end of the rally. “I have become the first non-Nordic driver to win the Swedish Rally, I have increased my lead in the Drivers Championship, and Citroën has taken the lead in the Manufacturer’s. It’s hard to dream of a better result!" Carlos Sainz loves the Swedish Rally. But is the feeling mutual? Finishing second in the rally for four consecutive years, between 1996 and 1999, he has dreamt of climbing up to the highest step of the podium, and his fastest time in SS2 kept the dream alive.

Whilst lying in third place, SS8 and SS9 removed all hopes of a win. On two separate occasions, the Xsara’s nose hit the snow banks, blocking the air intake and causing overheating engine.

Living up to his reputation as a fighter, the Spaniard managed to climb back up the field, and he was fighting for fourth place when an overheating engine, probably consequent to this of the day before on SS18, forced him to slow the pace.

“That’s rallying! I really enjoyed my fight with young Janne Tuohino, and I have claimed a few useful points,” said Carlos at the end of the rally. “I would most particularly like to congratulate Sébastien on his amazing performance. Having been the first ‘southerner’ to win in Finland and in Great Britain, I know how it feels to break a stronghold. This evening, I think that we are just at the beginning of Seb’s big year!"

At the service park, before returning to Karlstad, Guy Fréquelin was overcome with emotion.

"I must admit that I am overcome, as we all are, by the magic, by the emotion of this fantastic moment. The team gave Sébastien a perfect Xsara, his talent converted their work into an immense joy for Citroën. We are now in a fine position in both Championships. We could not have hoped for more encouragement in order to prepare for the next event!"

Michelin, Magneti-Marelli, Kinetic, OZ, AIS and Citroën Financement are the partners of the Citroën-Total team in the World Rally Championship.

Rally Statistics Position of the Xsara WRC cars, and the gap separating them from the fastest time, on each special stage. Sébastien Loeb Carlos Sainz Daniel Elena Marc Marti SS1 Lidsbron (19.59 km) 3rd + 6s 2nd + 5s Page 5

SS2 Torntop (19.21 km) 3rd + 1,4 s 1st SS3 Granberget 1 (52.57 km) 3rd + 13,5 s 4th + 19,2 s SS4 Granberget 2 (52.57 km) 4th + 10,1 s 7th + 26,6 s SS5 Hagfors (1,86 km) 1st 2nd + 1 s SS6 Sundsjön (20,78 km) 2nd + 0,7 s 4th + 4,2 s SS7 Malta 1 (11,25 km) 5th + 6,8 s 2nd + 2,1 s SS8 Fredriksberg (20,13 km) 5th + 6,3 s 21th + 57,6 s SS9 Lejen (26,40 km) 1st 8th + 36,9 s SS10 Malta 2 (11,25 km) 3rd + 4,2 s 2nd + 4,1 s SS11 Sundsjön (20,78 km) 1st 3rd + 5,2 s SS12 Vargasen (39,95 km) 1st 3rd + 5,2 s SS13 Hagfors (1,86 km) 5th + 2,7 s 3rd + 1,1 s SS14 Sågen 1 (14.17 km) 6th + 4.8 s 1st SS15 Rämmen 1 (23.35 km) 6th + 5.5 s 4th + 2.5 s SS16 Hara 1 (10.78 km) 6th + 7.1 s 2nd + 2.4 s SS17 Sågen 2 (14.17 km) 5th + 4.2 s Joint 1st SS18 Rämmen 2 (23.35 km) 2nd + 4.7 s 8th + 19.6 s SS19 Hara 2 (10.78 km) Joint 2nd + 7.9 s 13th + 30.2 s

Fastest time on each special stage Leg 1. SS1 : Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot 307) – SS2 : Carlos Sainz (Citroën Xsara) – SS3 et 4 : Markko Märtin (Ford Focus) – SS5 : Sébastien Loeb (Citroën Xsara). Leg 2. SS6, 7 et 8 : M. Grönholm – SS9 : S. Loeb – SS10 : M. Grönholm – SS11 et 12 : S. Loeb – SS13 : Petter Solberg (Subaru Impreza). Leg 3. SS14 : C. Sainz – SS15 : Janne Tuohino (Ford Focus) – SS16 : M. Grönholm – SS17 : C. Sainz and J. Tuohino – SS18 and 19 : M. Grönholm. Best performances M. Grönholm, 8 fastest times - S. Loeb, 4 - C. Sainz, 3 - M.Märtin, 2 - J. Tuohino, 2 - P. Solberg, 1. Successive Leaders SS1 and 2 : M. Grönholm – SS3 to 10 : M. Märtin – SS11 to 19 : S.Loeb. Final Classification of the 53rd Uddeholm Swedish Rally 1. S. Loeb/D. Elena (Citroën Xsara) 3 h 26 min 17.7 s 2. M. Grönholm/T. Rautiainen (Peugeot 307) + 46.4 s 3. P. Solberg/Ph. Mills (Subaru Impreza) + 1 min 21.5 s 4. J. Tuohino/J. Aho (Ford Focus) + 1 min 42.1 s 5. C. Sainz/M. Marti (Citroën Xsara) + 2 min 17 s Page 6

6. H. Solberg/C. Menkerud (Peugeot 206) + 4 min 17.6 s 7. M. Märtin/M.Park (Ford Focus) + 5 min 38.3 s 8. D. Carlsson/M. Andersson (Peugeot 206) + 5 min 50.4 s 9. M. Hirvonen/J. Lehtinen (Subaru Impreza) + 9 min 18.2 s 10. A. Eriksson/P-O. Svensson (Ford Focus) + 12 min 37.4 s …

World Manufacturers’ Championship 1. Citroën, 24 pts – 2. Ford, 22 pts - 3. Peugeot, 17 pts – 4. Subaru, 10 pts – 5. Mitsubishi, 3 pts. World Drivers’ Championship 1. S. Loeb, 20 points – 2. M. Grönholm, 13 pts – 3. M. Märtin, 10 pts – 4. P. Solberg, 8 pts - 5. F. Duval, 6 pts – 6. J. Tuohino, 5 pts - 7. F. Loix and C. Sainz, 4 pts - 9. G. Panizzi, 3pts -10. H. Solberg, 3 pts – 11. O. Burri and D. Carlsson, 1 pt.

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Miles Williams Tel: (02) 9558 7111 General Manager Fax: (02) 9558 7722 Citroën Australia Mob: 0419 800 520 E-Mail: [email protected] Edward Rowe Tel: (02) 9558 7111 Public Relations Manager Fax: (02) 9558 7722 Citroën Australia Mob: 0407 913 244 E-Mail: [email protected]

Web site: www.citroen.com.au EJR/ejr/416 5/10/2018