A tremendous victory

Spaniards Carlos Sainz and co-driver Marc Marti handed Citroen their first-ever World Rally victory on gravel on Sunday, winning the Rally of Turkey. Also, with Colin McRae picking up five points for fourth, the Versailles Satory based team remain championship leaders.

“This victory is tremendous”, explained Team boss Guy Fréquelin while congratulating his crews. “It’s even better than our first one in Corsica. This season we are now involved in the full Championship, and we’ve taken a win where nobody was expecting us to. The Xsara is now performing as well as its rivals on gravel. As reliable as ever, our car is looking very promising for the future.”

This 25th World Rally win made Carlos Sainz the joint record holder of victories together with his team-mate Colin McRae : “Colin and myself are inseparable” said the Spaniard having spent most of their carreers in the same teams. “Equalling this record is naturally a big satisfaction, but bringing Citroën its first win on gravel makes me even happier”…

“It’s not bad for an old man like you ! “ joked Colin by radio after the finish.

The Scot also underlined the progress made by Citroën when he returned to the final service in Kemer. “This result has proved the reliability of the car that we witnessed in Kenya last year. My car has run perfectly all weekend. Citroën is still leading the Manufacturers’ Championship just before we head off to the unknown terrain for the team in New Zealand. This is very encouraging…”