Sebastien Loeb reclaimed the championship lead from rival Mikko Hirvonen in the 2008 WRC championship as he pitoted his Red Bull-liveried Citroën C4 to the second Acropolis Rally win of his career at the weekend.
Loeb started off with an early lead, but on day two he lost the position to Citroën teammate Dani Sordo due to a puncture. Sordo himself encountered tyre problems later on and Loeb eventually went on to take the win a full minute faster than the rest of the field. Surprise podium finisher was former world champion Petter Solberg who piloted the new Subaru Impreza WRC to second place. Solberg’s sibling Henning for privateer team Stobart M-Sport looked as though he might have taken third had it not been for electrical problems, and eventually finished eighth.
“This is an important win for us. It shows the progress we have made on the loose, while the work put in by everyone in the team to adapt our Citroen C4 WRC to its Pirelli tyres across the full spectrum of surface types has paid dividends. I am pleased with our run over what are incontestably the toughest stages of the season. Today’s result has enabled us to recover the lead in the championship and it’s been a good weekend, too, in terms of the Manufacturers’ championship. The strength and competitiveness of our C4 and the successful management of our Pirelli tyres were the main keys to success here,” said Loeb who now sits one point ahead of championship rival Hirvonen.
It was a tough debut rally for Subaru’s new Impreza WRC but Solberg had held third from day one, so as Sordo fell out of a podium finish the Norwegian scooped up second – his first podium of the year.
“Ah! This is just incredible. I am so, so pleased. I can’t put it into words. It is so good to be back here again, and so important. I’m so happy for the team who’ve put in so much work to get this car ready. It’s incredible, I can’t believe it. First time in the new car, second is not bad at all! We knew it would be tough here but to finish second is just great. It’s what everyone has been waiting for. Phil and I, the team, the fans, everybody. This car has so much potential, I mean so much. This is it, we’re coming back,” exclaimed an excitable Solberg.
The BP-Ford team had little to celebrate about, even though Hirvonen managed to salvage third and Jari-Matti Latvala made it seventh. The points scored by both drivers were not enough to stop Citroën (Sordo finished fifth), who is now lying just three points adrift of Ford in the manufacturers’ championship.
“Its a nice surprise to be on the podium. It would have been difficult to beat Sebastien here but without our problems it would have been a good fight. Our emotions have been up and down and I thought we would be a long way behind Seb in the championship but it’s only one point,” said Hirvonen.
Another surprise was Estonian privateer Urmo Aava who drove to a relatively trouble free fourth place in his C4 WRC. Stobart driver Gigi Galli took the inaugural Colin McRae Trophy for setting a blistering pace on the Avalonas test.
“It is a very special feeling and a big honour to receive this award. Colin was a great hero of mine and to be compared to him is a real pleasure. My rally has not gone according to plan but I pushed as hard as I could when I could to get some fastest times and I’m sure he would have done the same thing in that position. People say we drive in the same style with a lot of energy and passion and it is fantastic when I hear this. Even with a bad rally this has really lifted my spirits,” said Galli.
The next event is the Rally of Turkey where the competitors will face conditions not unlike those experienced in Greece; hot, humid weather and treacherous gravel roads littered with jagged rocks – an event even more likely to damage suspension and puncture tyres than the Acropolis Rally.