WRC – Loeb brings a breath of fresh air to Citroën

Sébastien Loeb will have been the only one to overcome the Volkswagens of Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala to secure his 78th victory in WRC, his eighth consecutive Rally from Argentina. The nine-time world champion only had to manage his lead when his compatriot made a mistake in the second stage. The Alsatian could not dream of a better result for his last event on gravel. “It’s quite incredible to win this Rally Argentina for the eighth time, in front of so many passionate spectators”, commented the winner of the weekend. “Winning was not essential for me, but I got into the game when I saw that I was on the pace. Ogier was also fast, but I was a little more consistent before making the break at the end of the second stage. I am happy to offer this success to the team, they deserve it. »

Citroën Racing is catching its breath after being manhandled by Volkswagen and Sébastien Ogier in Mexico and Portugal where the manufacturer had to defend its colors without its flagship driver. Mikko Hirvonen was battling at the front in Argentina before momentary engine outages in his DS3 WRC caused him to lose several minutes. The Finn had to settle for sixth place. His teammate Dani Sordo was no luckier since an error in notes deprived him of all hope of doing well from the start of the event. The Spaniard finally lost in ninth place, two tenths behind Andreas Mikkelsen.

“Above all, I will remember the confirmation of the progression in performance of the DS3 WRC”, added Yves Matton, director of Citroën Racing. “We have undertaken a lot of work since Rally Mexico and we are rewarded with victory. A victory obviously inseparable from Seb, who was equal to himself despite his absence during the last rallies. I haven't forgotten our other drivers: after Dani in Portugal, Mikko proved this weekend that he was in the running to win. They still lack a little consistency to make it happen, we will all work on it together. »

Images of the final stage of the Rally Argentina can be found on this link.

Discover the analysis of the Rally Argentina carried out by our special correspondents in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, exceptionally available from tomorrow in digital version on all platforms, and from Tuesday on newsstands.