Reactions: Leaders, Citroën and Loeb Head South

At the wheel of their Citroën C4 WRC, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena finished in the lead on the third day of the 76th edition of the Rallye Monte-Carlo. During this stage, the Double Chevron crew focused on maintaining their first place without taking risks. In the second car of the Citroën Total team, Dani Sordo and Marc Martí were forced to stop in SS11.

There are better breakfast options than facing such selective stages as ‘Lalouvesc’ or ‘St Bonnet le Froid’, joked Sébastien Loeb. The day was breaking, the road was covered with patches of black ice, and the fog was thick in ES10… The last stretch of the morning was less tricky. We tried to push hard to get a better idea of how the Pirelli PZero tires reacted on this terrain. Scoring two new best times, the reigning World Champion team finished this loop having strengthened their first place.

The outcome was less positive for their teammates, Dani Sordo/Marc Martí, as the young Spanish driver recounted: « Everything started very well. My Citroën C4 WRC was giving me complete satisfaction. In two stages, we managed to increase our lead over the third place; our pace was good without being excessive. This allowed us to look forward to the rest of the race. In ‘Lamastre’ (SS11), we had an engine warning. I stopped to see if we could fix it. After a few minutes, the team decided not to try to continue. I am obviously very disappointed not to be able to score important points for Citroën. »

Adopting a sufficiently fast pace to maintain all their concentration, Sébastien and Daniel were leading this final Ardèche stage. « During the afternoon, I was particularly wary of ‘St Bonnet’ which was still very wet », explained Sébastien. « I’m happy to have completed the northern part of this Monte-Carlo. We are heading south to tackle five stages that can still lead to twists and turns. »

The balance of our day is mixed, concluded Olivier Quesnel. Sébastien, Daniel, and the Citroën C4 WRC once again showcased their talent today. I am counting on the experience of our crew to negotiate the upcoming Sunday well, especially the passage of the Col du Turini where spectators are known to throw snow onto the road. Satisfied with Sébastien’s performance, I would have liked Dani and Marc to continue the perfect race they were running. A turbo failure forced them to halt their demonstration. After repairs, the car will restart tomorrow in SupeRally. Ranked 9th among the nominated drivers to score points, he can hope to score some tomorrow…

According to a Citroen Sport press release