CTWRT : Rally Portugal – Citroën out for a hat trick in Portugal
Thanks to their victories in 2007 and 2009, Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and the Citroën C4 WRC are unbeaten in Rally Portugal. On their third outing in this event they are determined to score a hat trick, which will help them to extend their lead in the Drivers’ World Championship. In the Manufacturers’ title chase, the Citroën Total World Rally Team has a 5-point lead over its nearest rival. More than ever, the support of Dani Sordo and Marc Marti will be crucial to make the break before the summer interlude.
Rally Portugal was one of the great events in the World Championship up till 2001. It was reinstated on the calendar four years ago. The rally, now based in the Algarve, enjoys the type of popularity common to south European events. “We love the enthusiasm of the spectators,” smiles Sébastien Loeb. “The region is very pleasant; it’s usually fine and you really feel the people’s love of rallying. What more can you ask for?”
The six-time world champion has won the event on his two participations and he has but a single aim: score his fifty-eight career victory. “I like this rally very much but it’s not all that easy,” explains Seb. “Since the start of the season in each event the stages have had a lot of overcrests; those little humps that prevent us from reading the corners that lie just behind. Portugal will be the pits in this area! Apart from that you can’t say that the rally is a very difficult one. It’s a kind of digest of everything that you’ll find on gravel – wide quick sections, others that are slow and twisty.”