January 26th,
2003
It's
a Citroën full Monte – 1, 2, 3!
FIRST event, first
full season - and Citroën fills the first three places in the 2003 Monte
Carlo Rally!
It was a remarkable result for Citroën’s first event in its debut
season as a full competitor in the World Rally Championship, with Sébastien
Loeb leading a Citroën 1-2-3 across the line when the Monte Carlo
finished today.
 It
is only the fourth time in the history of the World Rally Championship
that one car maker has filled all three places on the podium and Sébastien
Loeb ended a two decade drought for his country, with it being 20 years
since a French driver in a French car has won the Monte Carlo Rally.
Loeb's performance in one of the toughest motorsport events in the world
belied his relative lack of experience; this is just his second world
championship win and his first full season.
He first applied the
pressure on world champion Marcus Gronholm, until Gronholm made an
uncharacteristic mistake and put his Peugeot into a tree and out of
contention. Loeb then lead the rally to the finish keeping his cool and
leading home his team mates Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz, to complete the
Citroen 1-2-3.
For Loeb and his co-driver, Monte Carlo-born Daniel Elena, the win has
even more significance because 12 months ago they won the event, only to
have the result taken off them because of a technical infringement.
"Last year, Daniel and I nearly reached heaven," said
Loeb.
 "This
time we can fully enjoy our victory. Here, more than anywhere else, this
is a big team victory. The Citroen Xsara has triumphed with Carlos, Colin
and
us, but also thanks to the excellent and efficient work of the whole team.
"I concentrated hard right till the last few metres of the last
special stage because you never know what might happen. I thought it was a
trap to have such a good lead going into the final special!"
For new Citroen team recruits, Colin McRae - the driver with more wins in
his account than any other driver - and Carlos Sainz, there could not be a
better start to their association with the French car maker.
"We knew the Xsara could win here, but achieving a
one-two-three, it's just perfect. It's a tremendous result for the
team," said McRae at the finish. "I always thought we could
challenge for a victory in Monte Carlo but a 1-2-3 is better than I
expected, that's for sure!"
Carlos Sainz has a unique record on the Monte Carlo Rally. The 2003 event
was his 14th event and the third place in his Citroen Xsara provides him
with his 11th podium finish. Not that it was without a battle, with the
Spaniard fighting a determined Markko Martin right to the end of the event
to ensure his place on the podium.
"It's been a true Monte, a very difficult one," said Sainz at
the end of the event. "The team is great and I want to thank
especially Marc Marti who was co-driving me only for the second time. He
did a fantastic job."
Although the drivers and co-drivers celebrated on the winners podium,
totally dominated by Citroen Chevrons, it must not be forgotten that they
would not have reached this outstanding result without team director Guy
Fréquelin and the Citroën team he has built with the specific aim of
taking the World Rally Championship title.
Organised with total
precision, Fréquelin has put together a team of unique ability, built a
car that truly is a Citroën, not a car built from parts sourced from
outside companies and organised and trained a support team of more than 30
people per car entered that has provided the drivers with a car, the Citroën
Xsara WRC, that is
fast, tough and reliable.
"It's wonderful", concluded Guy Fréquelin in Monte Carlo.
"The team has helped Sébastien to get the win he deserved last year.
They also showed to Colin and Carlos that they could prepare a car to win.
We couldn't dream of a better start."
But despite the cars
being “truly Citroën”, they had a uniquely Australian connection
which seems very apt as today is the Australia Day public holiday. For the
details, click here.
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