If we were to include the 2001 WRC candidate event, then this win just made it 8 consecutive wins for Citroen at Rallye Deutschland. This win also moved Citroen to third place in the all-time WRC manufacturers’ rankings.
Dani Sordo moves upto third place in the championship table after his stellar performance got him 8 points. The fastest man in the Rally Shakedown, Francois Duval, finished third to add to his second place finish last year. The Stobart VK M-Sport World Rally Team driver held off Mikko Hirvonen to come third by 10.1 seconds.
Championship leader before the race, Mikko Hirvonen, only managed 5 points after finishing a disappointing fifth. Hirvonen was optimistic after the race and said, “I would have preferred third, but fourth for me is not so bad on tarmac,” he said. “We’ve done some good stage times, and set some good splits, so if we can increase the consistency it’s not looking so bad for the tarmac rallies later in season.”
Petter Solberg and the Subaru World Rally Team could only manage a fifth place after ending a satisfied rally after the debut of the Subaru WRC2008 on asphalt. “I haven’t had any problems, it’s been a long time since we’ve had such a clean rally as this,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed myself and the car is getting better grip and traction all the time. There’s still a long way to go but we’re moving in the right direction.”
Henning Solberg came in at seventh place, ahead of Urmo Aava, “I’m happy with my performance and the car this weekend, said Solberg. “What more can I say? It’s coming better all the time.” While Citroen privateer Urmo Aava brought his C4 WRC over the podium eighth to take the final championship point.
