Finishing the 2007 Wales Rally GB in third place sufficed for Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena to secure their fourth straight Drivers' and Co-drivers' titles in the World Rally Championship today in Cardiff. At the wheel of Citroën Total's other Citroën C4 WRC, Dani Sordo/Marc Martí completed the final round of the 2007 championship in fifth place.
Driven by strong winds, the rain fell practically horizontally this morning as crews set off for the third and final leg of the weekend which featured two attempts at the notorious Brechfa and Trawscoed stages. The season's last day of competitive action totalled 114.26km which were by no means a mere formality.
"With the final, decisive round of the championship taking place in Wales, we just knew the weather conditions wouldn't be easy... and they weren't," smiled Guy Fréquelin whose face expressed a blend of relief, joy and pride. "Sébastien and Daniel tackled today's stages in the same way they approached all the others and met their objective to the latter. As a result, they are the World Champions with Citroën for the fourth year in a row!"
"Its just fantastic! Finishing third today after such a frustrating rally means we are the World Champions for the fourth year running," beamed Sébastien, visibly delighted as he stepped off the podium.
"The challenge we faced before the start was not as simple as all that," he continued. "We have been fighting to make it back to the top of the championship ever since the day we went off in Sardinia but we always believed we would succeed. The combination of the Citroën C4's potential on all the different types of surface that make up the championship and the excellent work put in by everyone at Citroën Sport kept us in the chase and it's really great to have pulled it off today!"
"Of my four titles, this was without doubt the most hotly contested. To have succeeded after such a fierce fight with Marcus Grönholm on stages across the world gives it a very special flavour. I know Marcus would have liked to have ended his retirement year by taking the crown, but I'm only half sorry he didn't! On the other hand, I am glad to have clinched the title on Guy Fréquelin's last rally as the boss of Citroën Sport," Seb shared.
Dani Sordo and Marc Martí completed the punishing event in fifth place but their first thoughts after the finish were to congratulate their team-mates on their title and also everyone in the team for the hard work they have put in since the beginning of the year.
"I am so happy for Seb and Daniel," confessed Dani. "I am happy and proud to have been shared this season alongside the new World Champions. I couldn't have wished for better teachers or team-mates!"
