Sébastien Loeb has cut into Marcus Grönholm’s championship lead to six points with a crucial victory in the Rallye de Catalunya.
The reigning World Rally Champion led for the majority of the rally event. His Citroen team-mate, Dani Sordo, also scored points away from Grönholm by finishing second.
“This is important for the championship,” said Loeb. “I hope we can do the same results on the tarmac rallies to come, and then for the rest we will see.”
The next event in the WRC will be Corsica, a tarmac event similar to Catalunya. Championship leader Grönholm will be determined to finish on a high note after losing time on the first few stages in Spain.
“I lost 34 seconds in the wet on Friday,” the Finn said. “I was not confident to drive with the hard slick, I was too careful. Now we hope for better luck in Corsica. I was second there last year, and hopefully we can do the same, at least.”
With only four events left, the Finn must score points consistently with top podium finishes if he wants to win this year’s title. For Loeb, he can continue his charge by winning events to close down the gap. It’s game on for the Frenchman!