Citroën, a memorable hat-trick

After Rally from Mexico, Citroën achieved a new hat-trick this season, in Portugal. In Mexico, Sébastien Loeb (Citroën World Rally Team) was ahead of Petter Solberg (Petter Solberg World Rally Team) and Sébastien Ogier (Citroën Junior Team). This weekend, in Portugal, Petter Solberg finished fifth but was relayed on the podium by Dani Sordo (Citroën World Rally Team), third and preceded by Sébastien Ogier, winner, and Sébastien Loeb, second.

If the Citroën C4 WRC monopolize the podium for the second time this season, it is the first hat-trick for Citroën Racing, since Petter Solberg is driving for his own team. The success is therefore total for the French manufacturer, which was able to count on its three best crews to achieve this resounding hat-trick.

In addition to the Mexico Rally this season, it is the first hat-trick for Citroën in the World Rally Championship since the memorable 2003 Monte-Carlo Rally. That year, notably against Peugeot and Ford, Citroën was able to count on the victory of Sébastien Loeb, followed by Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz, to achieve the hat-trick.

In addition, Citroën came within a whisker of a historic quadruple. Indeed, Petter Solberg lost time in the last special by going wide and ultimately finished fifth, allowing Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Focus WRC) to take fourth place. By placing four C4s in the first four places, Citroën would have achieved the first quadruple in its history.

The last quadruple in the WRC dates back to 1993 and the Safari Rally dominated by Toyota (Kankkunen, Alen, Duncan, Iwase). The best performance of all time in the WRC remains to the credit of Lancia, which achieved a historic quintuple during the 1990 Rally of Portugal (Biasion, Auriol, Kankkunen, Cerrato, Bica).