The French driver Sébastien Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena (Citroën Xsara WRC) got a dominant victory in the 41st. RallyRACC Catalunya-Costa Daurada. In total, the two times World Rally Champion set 9 fastest times of 15 possible, and achieved his first win in Catalonia. The second place of the podium was for the Belgians François Duval / Sven Smeets, also with an official Xsara WRC, while the third position went to Finns Mikko Hirvonen - Jarmo Lehtinen (Ford Focus RS WRC03).

Loeb was extremely happy after finishing the event: “We had a good race. I didn’t ease off at any moment because I wanted to win. Both Duval and I were able to keep the first two positions without problem and getting the constructors title for Citroën is the climax of an unforgettable year. It has been the result of many circumstances: luck, a good car, good tyres....”, states Loeb.

The highlight of the day was the fight for the third place between the Ford driver, Mikko Hirvonen, and Xevi Pons. The Catalan driver managed his advantage of 7.7 seconds during the two first stages, but in the last one, “Vilaplana 2” (28.33 kms), Hirvonen catched Xevi Pons, who had problems to start his Citroën Xsara WRC. As to the BP-Ford team official driver Roman Kresta, he was fifth.

Hirvonen couldn’t believe it and said “I sow Pons stopped at the start and I thought that it was my chance”. The overall difference between them tells the story: 1.2 seconds, in the best ever result for both drivers in the World Championship. After this thrilling last stage, Pons finished fourth, a result that, as the driver admits, was “unbelievable at the beginning of the race. I cannot express what I feel in this moment”.

The consequences of RallyRACC tough conditions
The difficult stages that composed the 41st. edition of the RallyRACC Catalunya-Costa Daurada caused a great amount of retirements that started in the first stage. In total, 18 drivers have retired from the race, being the most important those of Stéphane Sarrazin (Subaru Impreza WRC 05), Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot 307 WRC), Gigi Galli (Mitsubishi Lancer WR05), Alex Bengue (Skoda Fabia WRC 05), and Dani Solà (Ford Focus RS WRC04).

Victory and Junior World Championship for Daniel Sordo
The RACC driver Daniel Sordo became Junior World Champion in his home event at the wheel of the Citroën C2 Super 1600 prepared by Kronos Racing. With a wide advantage over the second classified, Kosti Katakamaki, Sordo and his co-driver Marc Martí drove cautiously during today’s leg, achieving his fourth victory of the season in the Junior category and the 12th position in the general classification. Sordo says that “This is an unforgettable moment and I want to enjoy it fully. We drove cautiously and without any problems. I know that there is a lot of talk about my future. What it’s true is that we are achieving great things and teams are aware of it. Let’s see what happens during the next weeks”.