Delight for Citroen.
Citroen team boss Olivier Quesnel has said that his number one driver Sebastien Loeb 'fully deserved' to win the Rally d'Italia Sardegna last weekend.
Loeb led the event from SS2, but as he had to run first on the roads on day's two and three and sweep the stages clean, he was never able to really relax and BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT duo Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala kept the Frenchman honest right to the very end.
Speaking at the finish, Quesnel however, was clearly impressed with the performance of the four-time world champion.
"Given the challenging context in which it was obtained, I am very happy with this result which is a fitting reward for the good work put in by everyone at Citroen Sport. Sebastien and Daniel [Elena - his co-driver] fully deserved to win because the parameters were very complex," he noted.
"We challenged for victory from start to finish and I believe that says a great deal about our domination.
"Being in the lead all the time meant that we spent the weekend sweeping a cleaner line for our competitors, but Sebastien and Daniel managed to overcome that handicap and went on to notch up their 40th world class win with Citroen. They also scored maximum championship points', which is good for their title chances."
Quesnel was also pleased with Dani Sordo's run in the second 'works' C4 WRC, even if he was unable to hold onto second on Saturday and eventually slipped back to fifth.
"Dani and Marc [Marti] put in a strong run, too, although their mission was complicated by the 'road sweeping' they had to do on day two," he continued.
"He doesn't have the same level of experience that Seb has so for him the rally was a bit too difficult and he dropped back a little. But he is getting there."
Sordo himself meanwhile conceded that he was a little disappointed he didn't make up any time on Sunday and haul in Gigi Galli - especially as unlike on day two he had a better road position.
"I didn't succeed in really upping my pace [on Sunday]. We tried several solutions, but I failed to find a set-up that allowed me to make the most of our C4's potential," he added.
"I'm a bit disappointed, but I'm still pleased with our performance on the first day and with the points we have scored for Citroen. There is still a long way to go this season, and there will be other opportunities to finish on the podium."
