Citroen loses the lead in the championship… despite a second-place finish

The final podium of the first edition of the ‘Jordan Rally’, the fifth round of the 2008 WRC World Championship, took place today near the Dead Sea, not far from Amman. Driving their Citroën C4 WRC, Dani Sordo/Marc Martí crossed it in second position, allowing the Citroën Total team to score eight valuable points. After restarting in SupeRally following their mishap yesterday, Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Loeb carried out a full-scale test session and also contributed a ‘Constructors’ point to Citroën.

At the start of this final day of the race, three drivers, including Dani Sordo, separated by less than 11 seconds, were still in contention for the victory. The battle promised to be intense, especially since 134.24 km against the clock, the longest stage, awaited the competitors. A group of three special stages was to be covered twice, with the highlight being the ‘Jordan River’ stage and its 41.45 km.

Wind and even a few drops of rain, as surprising as they were refreshing, marked the beginning of the morning before the sun and heat reappeared. First on the road, Dani Sordo/Marc Martí had decided to do everything possible to ensure that the imposed sweeping session did not deprive them of their chances to compete for victory. “I knew that the data from this morning was not in our favor,” recounted the young Spanish driver. “I tried not to think about it and drove as fast as possible. It paid off because, after the first round, we were only 7.7 seconds behind the leader. Everything was still possible in the second round.”

After the midday service, Dani (Sordo) and Marc (Marti) set off to attack again. “I really tried to drive hard. It wasn’t enough to regain the lead,” lamented Dani. “I am nonetheless satisfied with our race during which we led twice. The feeling at the wheel of our Citroën C4 WRC really thrilled me throughout the weekend. The course of this Jordan Rally was nervously complicated but also beneficial for the experience. It will be useful for better handling the upcoming events.”

What a rally! We will long remember this first edition in Jordan, concluded Olivier Quesnel. We went through all states! Today, Dani and Marc tried until the end to prevail… they weren’t far off. Our results are satisfactory. Certainly, our competitors score more points than us, but the competitiveness of our cars and the superiority displayed by Sébastien Loeb are promising for the rest of the season. Finally, I congratulate Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia for winning their second consecutive junior rally at the wheel of the Citroën C2 S1600.

Set off this morning in SuperRally after being hit by a competitor yesterday on a liaison stage, Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena took advantage of the many kilometers on Sunday’s program to conduct various tests. « It was particularly interesting to measure the behavior of the Pirelli Scorpion tires in the long special stage », detailed the reigning World Champion. « Depending on how events unfolded, we could also score points for Citroën. For the ‘Drivers’ Championship,’ we are now five points behind, which is far from insurmountable! The season is still long, and the performance of our C4 here is encouraging. »

According to a Citroen Sport statement