Loeb and Elena win Rallye Monte-Carlo
Elena and Loeb celebrate 6th win at Monte Carlo Rally
By Bob Hume, 23rd January 2012
After a three-year sabbatical, the principality of Monte-Carlo once again hosted a WRC round. What is arguably the most famous rally in the world, was won for the sixth time by Citroën Total World Rally Team's Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena on Sunday.
Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen also collected two points for their performance on the final stage, resulting in Citroën taking the lead in the Manufacturers’ World Championship.
The DS3 WRC has been tweaked a bit since last year, with most of the development centered on the engine. It seems to have paid off, with Loeb commenting that it "worked like a dream" during the 80th Rallye Monte-Carlo.
Loeb and Elena at Monte Carlo Rally
The Frenchman extended a huge lead over the five days, due partly to the early exit of Jari-Matti Latvala on day one. Latvala had been showing promise with an early lead of over 30 seconds.
A poor tyre choice left Ford's Petter Solberg fighting for second place on day two, losing the Norwegian over a minute on one ice-covered stage.
Second place was taken by Dani Sordo, driving consistently well in the MINI WRC, claiming the manufacturer's third podium in seven rallies.
After four long days’ racing, the final day of the Rallye Monte-Carlo was the shortest ever seen in the history of the World Championship: the 5.16km of the eighteenth stage, on a route between Ste Agnès and the Col de la Madone, were covered in under 3 minutes 30 seconds by the leading cars.
At the stop control, Loeb had recorded the fastest time, earning them three additional points in the Drivers’ World Championship. “I had decided to push because these points could make all the difference in deciding who wins the title. Apart from the points scored, I am happy to win a rally that means a lot to me.”
Citroën Racing's Yves Matton praised the performance of the entire team: “It’s important to start the season on a positive note and great to win a rally as legendary as Monte-Carlo. One of the key factors was tyre choice.”
The next event in the World Rally Championship will be held in Sweden between 9th and 12th February.
