WRC
Citroen Memorial Bettega preview
Citroen Sport's drivers to attend the Memorial Bettega Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo will be in Italy this weekend for the 18th annual Memorial Bettega. The five-time World Rally Champion* will kick off the event with a demonstration run at the ...
Published: Dec 15, 2008, 11:10 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Citroen Sport's drivers to attend the Memorial Bettega
Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo will be in Italy this weekend for the 18th annual Memorial Bettega. The five-time World Rally Champion* will kick off the event with a demonstration run at the wheel of the Manufacturers' title-winning* Citroen C4 WRC before flying on to England to take part in the Race of Champions at London's Wembley Stadium. Dani Sordo, who finished third in the 2008 World Rally Championship*, will contest the Italian fixture in the Citroen which took him to six podium finishes in the course of the season which came to a close last weekend in Wales.
The Memorial Bettega is organised within the framework of the 33rd Motor Show di Bologna (December 5-14) and is run in memory of the celebrated Italian rally driver who was tragically killed in an accident on the 1985 Tour de Corse. This popular competition stands out as the highlight of a programme of 20 or so races staged over the 10-day event and, since its creation in 1991, has been won by stars like Colin McRae (1991 and 1993), Didier Auriol (1992 and 1998) and Marcus Gronholm (2004). The action takes the form of head-to-head races round parallel tracks based on a knock out system which culminates in the grand finale.
Just hours after the FIA's official prize-giving ceremony in Monaco, the two Citroen drivers will trade their dinner jackets for their familiar race-suits. After receiving the prize in the Principality for his fifth consecutive world title, Sebastien Loeb will entertain the Italian crowd with a series of parade laps in the car with which he won 11 world class rallies this year. Immediately afterwards, the Alsace-born Frenchman will catch a plane to England where he is scheduled to contest the Race of Champions. Dani Sordo, who took the trophy for third place in the 2008 WRC, will stay on to defend Citroen's colours in front of Bologna's tifosi.
"I know the Memorial Bettega but I have never taken part in it before," says Dani. "I am very much looking forward to the start because it will be a fresh experience and I always enjoy discovering new events. It has an excellent reputation amongst the rally driver fraternity and that can be seen from the entry list which includes the likes of Marcus Gronholm and Gigi Galli. It won't be easy against drivers of that calibre but my objectives with the C4 WRC will be to challenge for outright victory and put on the best show possible for the spectators."
-credit: citroen
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article M-Sport FST Shootout summary
Next article FIA Gala notes
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Sébastien Loeb
Sebastien Loeb tests new Project Rally One 2027 WRC car
WRC
WRC
Rally Italy
Sebastien Loeb tests new Project Rally One 2027 WRC car
Sebastien Loeb to make traditional stage rallying return
WRC
WRC
Sebastien Loeb to make traditional stage rallying return
Sebastien Loeb after 13 Dakar punctures: Cars now extremely robust, tyres the weak link
Dakar
Dakar
Dakar
Sebastien Loeb after 13 Dakar punctures: Cars now extremely robust, tyres the weak link
More from
Citroën World Rally Team
Citroen reveals new-look 2025 WRC line-up
WRC
WRC
Rally Monte Carlo
Citroen reveals new-look 2025 WRC line-up
Ostberg gets full WRC2 season with Citroen
WRC
WRC
Ostberg gets full WRC2 season with Citroen
Citroen open to making WRC car available to privateers
WRC
WRC
Citroen open to making WRC car available to privateers
Latest news
Max Verstappen clears the air with Liam Lawson, but stays tight-lipped on Racing Bulls F1 seat
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
9 min
Max Verstappen clears the air with Liam Lawson, but stays tight-lipped on Racing Bulls F1 seat
"I'll bombard myself with melatonin": Kimi Antonelli admits to driving "tense" and "tired" on cusp of F1 title
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
27 min
"I'll bombard myself with melatonin": Kimi Antonelli admits to driving "tense" and "tired" on cusp of F1 title
Ryo Hirakawa could have "easily" made Q2 in F1 Mexico GP without late traffic
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
1 h
Ryo Hirakawa could have "easily" made Q2 in F1 Mexico GP without late traffic
Carson Kvapil wins Martinsville as Justin Allgaier takes NASCAR O’Reilly points lead
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Martinsville II
1 h
Carson Kvapil wins Martinsville as Justin Allgaier takes NASCAR O’Reilly points lead
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe