Reactions – Sordo revives Citroen’s hopes

During the second day of the 57th Swedish Rally, Dani Sordo/Marc Martí and their Citroën C4 WRC made a spectacular comeback in the standings. Starting 18th this morning, they are now ranked 7th, in a good position to bring four ‘Constructors’ points to Citroën. In the second car of the Citroën Total team, Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena set two best times before withdrawing due to an engine problem following their off-road excursion yesterday.

During this second day of racing around Hagfors, the teams encountered more familiar stages than those on Friday. The 121 kilometers against the clock were divided into a group of three special stages to be contested twice, including Vargäsen (SS11/14), where the famous “Colin Crest” is located, a bump so named after a spectacular jump by the late Colin McRae. Due to the thaw, the organizers were forced to cancel SS12, which was heavily degraded after the first round.

In very non-wintery conditions (6°C), the thin layer of ice covering the roads disappeared after a few cars passed, revealing the ground beneath. On this soft surface, where the studs couldn’t grip, it was difficult for the Pirelli Sottozero tires to perform fully. “These are the worst conditions one can find in Sweden,” summarized Dani Sordo. “The grip is constantly changing. You can’t predict if you’re going to be driving on ice or earth… and the snow walls aren’t there to stop us! You have to stay on the defensive.” The Citroën teams showed the most skill during the morning, winning all the stages and affirming the C4’s qualities on this challenging terrain.

« I was more familiar with today’s challenges. I immediately got off to a good start.

rhythm, continued Dani. My driving on this slippery surface keeps improving and I am satisfied with my performance. The behavior of my C4 WRC on these very degraded roads gave me complete satisfaction. I hope my position will improve further to score more points for Citroën.

Restarting in SupeRally after their mistake the previous day, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena managed a good start to the day: « In this situation, it is tricky to know which tactic to adopt », said Seb. « We tried to drive fast to stay focused. Things went well until the service, then we decided not to continue because our engine had suffered too much in our exit from SS4. »

« Our Saturday report is positive », stated Olivier Quesnel. « Our teams perfectly managed to avoid the numerous traps, and our Citroën C4 WRC proved effective. Dani and Marc had to try to improve their position. By gaining 11 places, they superbly achieved this objective. There are 97 kilometers of special stages left tomorrow, and they could still progress in the standings. For Seb and Daniel, the engine of their car showed signs of weakness, probably due to their off-road incident yesterday. We preferred to stop them. »

According to a Citroen Sport press release