Speaking ahead of the twelfth round in the 2007 WRC, Seb stated that the C4 WRC should be good in Spain as it was on the other two asphalt events this season in Germany and Monte Carlo, both of which he won.
"We will need to hit the ground running. The pace is usually very fast and it can be difficult to pull out a real gap, so it will be important to be able to push from the word go,” he stated.
“The Citroën C4 WRC was very competitive on the Monte in January, and again in August in Germany. Hopefully, that trend will continue over the Rally Catalunya's smooth stages."
Dani Sordo meanwhile has pledged that he will do all he can to try and take points off Gronholm and help Loeb in his bid to take the title.
Dani has done the Rally Catalunya four times to date and in addition to taking the Junior honours in 2005, he also notched up his first ever podium finish at the 'senior' level in Spain last year, when he brought his Xsara WRC home in second place – only his fourth outing in a
World Rally Car.
Sordo now has loads more experience and 18 months on is aware that he needs a similar result, not only to help Seb, but also to give
Citroen a chance in the manufacturers'.
“Spain is the year's first real sealed surface event. Competing on home ground, in front of home fans, family and friends is always nice. That said, it can mean extra pressure, too, because you don't want to disappoint,” he noted.
“I am fully conscious of the stakes regarding
Citroen and Sebastien. I will do everything I can to help Seb and that means doing as well as I can against his main rival.
"I will endeavour to finish ahead of
Mikko Hirvonen and, above all, Marcus Grönholm. The best way Marc Marti and I can help Sébastien and Daniel [Elena] is by depriving their rivals of points.
“We know it won't be easy but I hope I will be able to profit from my good feeling on asphalt, the potential of the C4 WRC and the work everyone at Citroën Sport has put in to make the car so competitive."
BP Ford WRT:
