Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena laid the foundations of their victory during the first two days of the rally. At the end of the final stages of Rally Bulgaria they racked up their 58th world championship win. Despite being under constant pressure from Petter Solberg, Dani Sordo and Marc Marti held on to their second place giving the Citroën Total World Rally Team its first double of the 2010 season.
Thanks to Petter Solberg and Sébastien Ogier, Citroën scored the first one-two-three-four in its history in the FIA World Rally Championship. After a couple of fairly long days, the final leg of Rally Bulgaria was much shorter with two stages to be covered twice. The sun shining on the Bulgarian mountains left no doubt as to the choice of tyres – hard Pirelli P-Zeros for everybody!
Sébastien Loeb had a 40-second lead over Dani Sordo when he left the parc fermé so he could afford just to hold on to his position on the final day. The six-time world champion lost a handful of seconds in the first two stages: “It’s an ideal situation but I don’t really feel very comfortable when I have to ensure my place. You can always puncture or make a mistake. I’ll try to stay concentrated and enjoy the stages. My C4 is quite simply perfect and it’s sheer magic to drive in these conditions.”
For Sordo, on the other hand, the third day looked a lot more fraught. The Spaniard had only a 4.7s lead over Petter Solberg, and he had no choice but to push to keep his position. In Muhovo 1 (SS14), the Norwegian pulled back 9/10s but Dani hit back in Slavovitsa 1 (SS15). He took 2.7s off his rival and arrived in the Dolna Banya service park with 6.5s in hand: “I’m going to have to keep on pushing as I know that Petter will give nothing away. He drove very well in the first loop, but I wasn’t too slow either!”
The Sordo / Solberg duel continued in the next two stages. Dani fended off all his rival’s attacks and kept his second place: “I’ve achieved my aim in this rally. Seb made a decisive break in the opening stages and once again he was the quickest this weekend. My role was to bag as many points as possible for Citroën for the Manufacturers’ World Championship title, and I also wanted to win my duel with Petter. My second podium on the trot has boosted my confidence for the rest of the season.”
Loeb kept up the same pace to score his 58th WRC victory increasing his lead in the Drivers’ World Championship to 49 points: “It’s all gone off like a dream, really. We began with a good first day and weconsolidated our position on the next one. Today was a bit more relaxed! I like the first Rally Bulgaria! It’s got good stages that highlight the qualities of the drivers and the cars. Bravo to Dani who drove a great race.”
Thanks to the third and fourth places of Petter Solberg and Sébastien Ogier, Citroën scored the first one two-three-four in its history in the FIA World Rally Championship. “This overall result is the best proof of the qualities of our C4 WRCs, whether they’re works cars or entrusted to privateers. Seb’s and Dani’s
double has helped Citroën to open up a big lead in the Manufacturers’ World Championship, so the principal aim’s been achieved,” underlined Olivier Quesnel, the Citroën Racing Team Principal.
Final positions :
1. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen C4 3hr 02min 39.2sec
2. D Sordo/M Marti ESP Citroen C4 3hr 03min 08.7sec
3. P Solberg/C Patterson NOR Citroen C4 3hr 03min 15.5sec
4. S Ogier/J Ingrassia FRA Citroen C4 3hr 04min 34.2sec
5. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 05min 57.0sec
6. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 07min 07.7sec
7. P-G Andersson/J Andersson SWE Ford Focus RS 3hr 08min 04.4sec
8. F Turan/G Lsiros HUN Peugeot 307 3hr 09min 43.2sec
9. M Wilson/S Martin GBR Ford Focus RS 3hr 12min 07.8sec
10 H Solberg/I Minor NOR Ford Fiesta S2000 3hr 15min 45.2sec
– Credit: Citroen Total World Rally Team