Swedish Rally: Citro?n leg two summary

The Xsaras are catching up.

Unlike yesterday, the second leg of the Swedish rally offered good road conditions. The drivers competed in today's six stages covered with ice. The Citroën crews profited from these conditions showing the true potential of their Xsaras.

Classified on every stage in the top rankings, the three drivers made a great recovery in the leaderboard. Lying 13th overall this morning, Colin McRae and Derek Ringer returned to Karlstad tonight in 5th position. Carlos Sainz and Marc Marti finished 8th after starting 12th, and Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena came back from the 18th to 10th position.

Guy Fréquelin was very satisfied with this day : "We are now fighting with the leaders as I expected. Of course, we still need to improve. However, I believe our car matches our competitor's level. We should not forget that it's only our second outing on this very specific terrain."

"I feel good with the car", said Colin McRae at the final service. "It was a much better day and I'm happy with the results. I intend to keep the same pace tomorrow, and will try to catch up with Markko Martin."

"The more I drive the Xsara, the better feelings I get with it", declared Carlos Sainz when he set the fastest time in stage 8. "The good road conditions allowed us to gain a few positions. I can't wait for tomorrow when I will try to get some more points. We will drive with full attack for a good fight."

"Taken as a whole, it was a good day", underlined Sébastien Loeb, "even if I was penalised by inheriting a notional time on SS8. The times we have been setting prove the potential of the car. It's only the second time I have contested this rally with a WRC car, and I can say I feel better and better on snow. Tomorrow, I will give my maximum and try to finish in the points."

Telefónica Movistar, Michelin, Magneti-Marelli, OZ, AIS and Citroën Financement are the partners of Team Citroën-Total in the World Rally Championship.

-citroen-