In the Manufacturers' series Kronos
Citroen still lead, but the margin between them and
BP Ford went up from 3 points to 12 following the event in South America three weeks ago.
News from the Manufacturers' teams:
Manufacturer 1.
Kronos Total Citroen:
[
Sebastien Loeb, car #1 and Xavier Pons, car #2]
Sebastien Loeb has said that he and Kronos Citroen cannot afford to relax in the battle for the 2006
FIA World Rally drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships, despite the fact they enjoy a healthy lead in both. Indeed despite a practically perfect start to 2006, the Frenchman isn’t taking anything for granted and is more than aware that the situation could change this weekend in Sardinia.
"Since my mistake in Monaco [on day one], it is true everything has gone fine," he noted. "We have to take into account the fact though that amongst the first six rounds we’ve done, two took place on tarmac. For me, it was important to win them and insure the points we were relying on [as the Xsara is usually good on asphalt]. It wasn’t easy but we finally made it.
"On gravel in Mexico, we had to catch Petter [Solberg] back. In Argentina, we saw we were able to match the fastest drivers’ pace. But I remain cautious. This situation can change quickly with a progress from one of our rivals. Everyone here is working hard, so nobody can afford to relax."
Kronos boss, Marc van Dalen meanwhile has defended the team’s decision to stick with Xavier Pons and to keep him as their second nominated driver, despite the form of
Daniel Sordo in the ‘third’ car.
![Rally Italia Sardinia winners Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena on the podium with Petter Solberg and Phil Mills [2nd] and Marcus Gronholm and Timo Rautiainen [3rd]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/143183.jpg)
