Rally Ireland - CWRT : Citroën kicks off 2009 with a one-two finish!

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Citroën C4 WRC crews Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Marti repeated their result on the 2007 Rally Ireland with another one-two finish today in Sligo. The former succeeded in taking control after the opening loop on Friday morning before gradually pulling clear of their chasers, while the five-time World Champions' Spanish team-mates tucked into their wake to hand Citroën a maximum points haul in the Manufacturers World Rally Championship.

Following two days of uninterrupted heavy rain, competitors were greeted by crisp dry, sunny weather in the north of Ireland for the final day of the rally. Tyre choices were once against a major topic of conversation in this morning's early service park in Sligo as crews pondered whether to continue with the Pirelli Sottozero snow tyres they had been using since Friday lunchtime or else switch to the PZero asphalt tyre? Based on the information available to them, Citroën's crews and engineers chose to stay on Sottozeros. "If we had been looking for outright performance in this morning's damp conditions, we would no doubt have switched to the PZero," explains Citroën Sport's Operations Manager Didier Clément. "However, given the lead Sébastien and Dani enjoyed this morning, we were able to go for the safe option. Both our two have become accustomed to the grip provided by the Sottozeros on these stages and we all believe they were the best call.