By Saturday evening, after dropping down the order on Leg 1, Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena had already succeeded in carving their way back up to 6th place.
To stand a chance of progressing even further up the leaderboard, the challenge was simple: they needed to take 36 seconds off Harri Rovanperä and 37.4s off Toni Gardemeister over the final day's two stages which totalled 62.65 km; an average of just under half a second per kilometre.

While the first of these two tests - Comanjilla/Chichimequillas' - was relatively short, the second - ‘Alfaro/El Establo' - was quite simply the longest of the event and the organisers had programmed it at the very end with a view to keeping up the suspense all the way to the finish…

Over the 18.26 km of SS13 ('Chichimequillas'), Seb posted the fastest time, beating Rovanperä by 9.9s and Gardemeister by 12.8s. At that point, the Frenchman was on the necessary pace to pass both drivers, but he still had approximately 26s to claw back and his rivals were not going to give up without a fight.

But at the El Establo Stop Control at the end of the 44.39 km Alfaro test after producing yet another amazing effort, Seb claimed a further fastest time and, more significantly, successfully pipped the two Finns at the post to claim 4th place. "After Friday's problems, we would have gladly signed for 4th place without the slightest hesitation," confesses Guy Fréquelin who made no attempt to conceal his relief. "What Seb and Daniel have done is admirable. The way they fought their way back was true art. I take my hat off to them both!"

"I have been pushing very hard since yesterday," confirmed Seb, visibly delighted. "And today I turned it up a further notch. I honestly drove the final stage as though victory depended on it. It was a near-perfect run, perhaps one of the best of my career… Finishing 4th allows me to stay on the heels of the championship leaders and also keeps Citroën in the frame."

François Duval's Xsara was fitted with a new radiator on Saturday, but the Belgian dropped way down the order because of the time penalties incurred for missing three stages (SS10, 11 and 12). His mission this morning was to drive at a moderate pace with a view to evaluating the reliability of his car which wasn't 100% certain. However, the young Belgian preferred to withdraw after completing the final stage and the technical team will now take time to examine his engine in detail before the next round.

"They say problems come in threes," says François. "I've now done three rallies without being able to defend my chances all the way to the flag and the championship will really begin for me in New Zealand. That said, this was my first outing on gravel with the Xsara. My pace allowed me to compete for 3rd place before my problems. That gives an idea of the potential of the car and the team and that is reassuring concerning my familiarisation with both."

Tags: citroen, sport, sebastien, loeb,