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 The second round of the 2008 World Rally Championship ended today in Sweden where Dani Sordo and Marc Martí succeeded in steering their Citroën C4 WRC to sixth place at the end of the three-day event. Their performance earns four additional Manufacturers' points for Citroën.
Abnormally mild temperatures for this time of year in the Värmland saw all the snow melt, while the remaining thin layer of ice that covered the tracks of the event's traditional home region didn't stand up long to the repeated assault of the studded tyres.
The surfaces soon became little more than a soft, muddy, icy soup which was extremely slippery. The Swedish Rally is frequently listed amongst the drivers' favourite rounds, but they found this year's visit quite pallid.
 An off on the third stage of day one put an end to the run of Loeb and Elena. It was just as Citroen Sports Engineers and Technicians were settling into their allocated spot at the mid leg remote service in Sunne that reports that the Citroen C4 of Loeb and Elena had stopped 19km into SS4 came through.
Although they had lost time, the defending World Champion had succeeded in completing the stage and reaching Sunne where they related their misadventure.
"I hit a snowbank with the front of my car on the inside of a fast left-hander, and that sent us into a spin," reported Sébastien. "I tried to get the car back in line but we hit a bank and rolled. We landed on the stage but a problem with the clutch meant that we weren't able to re-start at once. It was a driver error but the car didn't really take a big knock. Had we been able to service after the stage, I think we would have been able to continue.
" Indeed, the misfortunes of Seb and Daniel didn't stop there. The regulations governing remote service parks dictate that the four mechanics authorised to work on the car are only authorised to change damaged parts using spares carried in the car itself. "The team did its absolute best to make repairs," continued Seb, "but we decided to call it a day because we didn't have a sumpguard, we were down on power and the clutch was playing up.
The intercooler was damaged, too, and it's just not possible to carry a spare in the car all the time! But rules are rules and we shouldn't have made the mistake, but it's very frustrating, both for ourselves and for Citroën."
"It's not much fun competing in conditions like this. The stages were even more treacherous than usual," summed up Dani Sordo. "You just couldn't tell what the surface would be like through the next corner. On today's six scheduled tests, for example, there was more dirt than ice." "Even so, I have to say I am pleased with our run," added the Spaniard.
"Replacing our engine before the start meant we carried a five-minute penalty even before we drove off the start ramp! I consequently began by bedding myself in before gradually upping my pace. My pacenotes were better than last year and I felt increasingly confident.
 I was no doubt helped by the lack of real wintry conditions, but our car performed impeccably, too, and I managed to work my way up the leaderboard to finish sixth, which brings Citroën a few points. I also feel more comfortable in these slippery conditions and our Pirelli Sottozero tyres worked well despite the delicate task they faced. It was a good weekend, but I'm now very much looking forward to Mexico!"
"This result doesn't bring us many points, but we can still take away some positives," observed Olivier Quesnel. "To begin with, the Citroën C4 WRC was competitive and reliable, while the performance of Dani and Marc was a good omen for the rest of the season.Despite his limited experience here, Dani showed that he is capable of driving quickly in slippery conditions.
I particularly appreciated the way he put his time penalty to the back of his mind and just got on with the job we expected of him.
 In Mexico and beyond, I hope he succeeds in putting in the same sort of display to earn even more points for Citroën. The off of Sébastien and Daniel on the first day showed that nothing can ever be taken for granted in motor sport, but I have every confidence in their ability, and that of everyone at Citroën Sport, to recover the situation very quickly."
"As for the Citroën Sport Technologies drivers," concluded Olivier Quesnel, "Conrad Rautenbach and David Senior continued to familiarise themselves with their Xsara WRC, while Urmo AAva and Kuldar Sikk targeted a gap of 1s/km compared with the front-runners for their debut outing with the Citroën C4 WRC. They finished 0.8s/km down, which is a very satisfactory and highly encouraging result."
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