Reigning world champion, Sebastien Loeb has come out fighting on the opening day of the Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo, the Citroen ace winning three out of the four tests to establish a comfortable 32.7 second lead.
Citroen arrive at the Rallye Monte Carlo this weekend, following a fantastic 2004, which saw them win both the constructors' and drivers' championships.
Citroen have announced that Francois Duval will join the team for the 2005 FIA World Rally Championship - the Belgian replaces Carlos Sainz, who has decided to retire. Duval's co-driver, Stephane Prevot will also make the move to the French outfit.
Citroen's Sebastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz finished second and third respectively on the Rallye de France-Tour de Corse today [Sunday], in the processing clinching both the drivers' and manufacturers' titles for the French squad.
Citroen's Sebastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz finished second and third in the Rally Italia Sardinia today, scoring valuable points for both the Manufacturers' and Drivers' Championships.
Runaway championship leader, Sebastien Loeb has taken the advantage on the Wales Rally GB this [Friday] morning, by posting the quickest times through SS2 and SS3, the Frenchman now at the top of the leaderboard, 19.5 seconds up on Marcus Gronholm, who lies second.
Round 12 of the 16-round FIA World Rally Championship takes the Citroen Xsara WRCs of Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Carlos Sainz/Marc Marti to the home of Y Ddraig Goch, the celebrated red dragon that has proudly appeared on the flag of the Principality since the year 678.
Citroen has confirmed that the new C4 WRC will replace the Xsara WRC in the FIA World Rally Championship from 2006 onwards. The successor to the Xsara, made its first rollout earlier this month on the track situated alongside the Versailles-Satory workshops.
Citroen have won in Germany for the last three years running - twice with Sebastien Loeb (2003 and 2002), and once with Philippe Bugalski in 2001, prior to its inclusion in the WRC. This weekend they return, aiming to take win number four.
From mid-May to the end of June, the World Rally Championship will set up its base-camp in the eastern part of the Mediterranean for a sequence of three events reputed as the toughest of the calendar, for the drivers and their machines alike.
King Carlos Sainz will be hoping for an ideal birthday present when he competes in this week's Propecia Rally New Zealand starting on Thursday. Sainz, a two-time world champion and four time winner of Rally New Zealand, celebrates his 42nd birthday today [Easter Monday].
Citroen returned from its exploratory visit to the World Championship's most distant fixture last year with five points in the bag thanks to Sebastien Loeb's fourth place, a superb result for the Frenchman's maiden competitive outing to New Zealand - and it won't have escaped rugby union fans tha
World Rally Champions, Citroen, yesterday showed its latest look for the triumphant Xsara WRC car ready for the start of this year's 16 event world rally championship at Monte Carlo this week [22nd to 25th January].
Citroen's Carlos Sainz has admitted that talk of retiring at the end of 2004 was premature at best. Sainz revealed last month that next year would be his last in the WRC after crashing out on the first day of the Rally GB.
Odd years have a habit of being kind to Citroen in Corsica. The DS 19 triumphed on the Mediterranean island in 1961 and 1963, while more recently Philippe Bugalski/Jean-Paul Chiaroni and Jesus Puras/Marc Marti secured an emphatic one-two for the Xsara Kit Car in 1999.
With four events to go between now and the end of the 2003 FIA World Rally championship, four latest-specification Citroen Xsara WRCs have been entered for the 2003 Sanremo Rally.
Citroen Sport has signed Renault's Simon Jean-Joseph for 2004, seemingly making him their 'third driver', following changes to the FIA World Rally Championship rules back in June.