World Rally Championship

6/15/2008 -- The eighth round of the 2008 WRC World Championship, the Rally of Turkey, came to its conclusion today. At the end of this hot Sunday, Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena brought their Citroen home to finish on the third step of the podium. Team-mates Dani Sordo / Marc Marti finished the punishing event in their wake in 4th place.

The last leg was shortened to just 67.56km of against-the-clock action. The two runs through the Olympos stage, 31.03km, of which the first 7km seven were new, served as the event's sting in the tail, while the Çamyuva test – run in reverse during the shakedown – had the makings of throwing up some surprises, despite only being short (5.5km).

6/1/2008 -- This year's Acropolis Rally, round seven of the 2008 World Rally Championship (WRC), turned out to be a gruelling marathon contested at the pace of a sprint. The final day not only saw Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and their C4 secure the spoils but they have also recovered first place in the Drivers' standings. Dani Sordo/Marc Martí steered the second Citroën Total car to 5th overall, harvesting five points for Citroën which takes the French firm to within two points of the lead in the Manufacturers' table.

Driving privately-entered Citroën C4s run by PH Sport with the support of technicians from Citroën Sport Technologies, Urmo Aava/Kuldar Sikk (4th) and Conrad Rautenbach/David Senior (10th) also contributed to the Twin Chevrons' successful weekend in Greece.

5/18/2008 -- The finish ceremony of the Rally d'Italia Sardegna this afternoon alongside Porto Cervo's Marina Vechia saw Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and their Citroën C4 WRC claim top prize in the sixth round of the 2008 World Championship. The second Citroën Total car finished fifth in the hands of Dani Sordo and Marc Martí. Today's result takes the reigning champions' total to a record 40 world class wins and sees them move to within three points of the provisional championship lead, while the gap at the sharp end of the Manufacturers' standings remains unchanged.

10.04.2008 -- In accordance with its agreement with Pirelli, the Italian tyre manufacturer designated by the FIA as the official tyre supplier to the FIA World Rally Championship, the World Motor Sport Council has ratified the proposal presented by the World Rally Championship Commission for the investment of funding in international rallying.

The intent is to invest in the growth of the sport worldwide and, in particular, help younger competitors reach World Championship level.

26.03.2008 -- The World Motor Sport Council met in Paris on 26 March 2008. The following decisions were taken:

FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

The WMSC appointed the Management Committee for the Motor Sport Safety Development Fund, the body which will distribute the $60 million from the McLaren-Mercedes fine, for the benefit of motor sport worldwide. The Committee will control the Fund under the administration of the FIA Foundation.

3/25/2008 -- Citroën Sport is pleased to announce the arrival of Red Bull as a new partner of its programme with the Citroën C4 WRC and its crews Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Marti in the FIA World Rally Championship.

It is the combination of the Citroën brand's international reputation, Team Citroën Total's outstanding performance record and the exceptional personality of the drivers (three Manufacturers' titles, plus four consecutive world titles for Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena) that perfectly matches the vision of Red Bull – creator and global leader of the energy drinks market – which is looking at developing closer ties with the French market.

Mar 12, 2008, KARIYA (Japan) -- DENSO Corporation today announced its motor sport sponsorship plan for the 2008 season. DENSO will continue to sponsor teams participating in the world's top motor sports including FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (F1), FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP (WRC), and FIM ROAD RACING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (WGP). DENSO will also support TOYOTA TEAM SARD in the SUPER GT.

2/29/2008 -- At the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, open to the public between 6 and 16 March, Citroën is unveiling two new models: the C5 Tourer and the New Berlingo. The C5 Tourer is a variation on the new C5, combining style, space, functional design and performance, while the New Berlingo is an ultra-functional family car. The arrival of these two new body styles – fully representative of Citroën's rich, up-to-the-minute range – once more illustrates Citroën's vitality.

Citroën is also displaying the new Citroën C5 saloon, recently unveiled and scheduled to make its market debut in the very near future. Also on show are the Citroën Nemo Combi in an XTR version, and the C4 WRC, the champions' car in the 2007 World Rally Championship.

2/10/2008 -- 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.

07.12.2007 -- The 2007 FIA World Rally Champions were officially crowned at the prestigious FIA Gala in Monaco this evening.

The Championship was fought out over 16 events on five continents on surfaces as diverse as snow, asphalt and rough gravel. It reached its climax in Great Britain last weekend, where arch rivals Marcus Grönholm and Sébastien Loeb went head to head for the world title.

Frenchman Loeb and Monegasque co-driver Daniel Elena drove a strategic rally in appalling weather conditions to claim their fourth consecutive world titles.

Sébastien Loeb said:

12/2/2007 -- Finishing the 2007 Wales Rally GB in third place sufficed for Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena to secure their fourth straight Drivers' and Co-drivers' titles in the World Rally Championship today in Cardiff. At the wheel of Citroën Total's other Citroën C4 WRC, Dani Sordo/Marc Martí completed the final round of the 2007 championship in fifth place.

Driven by strong winds, the rain fell practically horizontally this morning as crews set off for the third and final leg of the weekend which featured two attempts at the notorious Brechfa and Trawscoed stages. The season's last day of competitive action totalled 114.26km which were by no means a mere formality.

30.11.2007 -- Following a fax vote of the World Motor Sport Council, the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship calendar is as follows:

Championnat du Monde des Rallyes de la FIA
FIA World Rally Championship

24 - 27/01 MC 76e Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo
08 - 10/02 S Uddeholm Swedish Rally
29/02 - 02/03 MEX Rally Mexico
28 - 30/03 RA Rally Argentina
24 - 27/04 HKJ Jordan Rally WRC
16 - 18/05 I Rallye d'Italia-Sardegna
29/05 - 01/06 GR BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally
13 - 15/06 TR Rally of Turkey
31/07 - 03/08 FIN Neste Oil Rally Finland
15 - 17/08 D ADAC Rallye Deutschland
28 - 31/08 NZ Rally of New Zealand
02 - 05/10 E Rallye de España
10 - 12/10 F Rallye de France Tour de Corse
24 - 26/10 J Rally Japan

11/26/2007 -- In keeping with a longstanding tradition that was briefly interrupted for two seasons, Great Britain's round of the World Rally Championship will bring the curtain down on the 2007 campaign. For the sixteenth and final round of the season, Citroën Sport has entered two C4 WRCs, one for Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and the other for Dani Sordo/Marc Martí.

Newly-crowned world rally champion BP-Ford aims to add the drivers' title to its second- consecutive manufacturers' success in the FIA World Rally Championship in Wales next week. Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen have their sights set on celebrating their 150th WRC start by securing a third world title on Rally GB (29 November - 2 December) on their final event before retiring from the sport.

(November 15-18, 2007)

The end of the third and last day of the inaugural Rally Ireland saw Citroën Sport claim an emphatic one-two, with Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena steering their C4 WRC to victory on the Emerald Isle ahead of the similar car of team-mates Dani Sordo/Marc Martí.

The 55.91km of stages on the menu of the final leg of the season's 15th and penultimate round featured similar, damp, greasy roads to those visited since the beginning of the weekend. The day also offered further typical local weather with early showers making way for a few rays of sunshine later on.

11/9/2007 -- One thing is certain: the outcome of the 2007 World Rally Championship will be decided in the British Isles, and quite possibly on the first of the season's last two fixtures – the inaugural Rally Ireland – for which Citroën Sport has entered two C4 WRCs for Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Martí.

10/26/2007 -- Following Friday evening's official start ceremony, the 2007 Rally Japan began in earnest this morning at 6pm as crews started to leave the service park with dawn just about breaking and temperatures hovering around the 0°C mark. The morning's menu featured four stages totalling 51.74km and conditions were icy in places, prompting Citroën's Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Martí to equip their respective C4 WRCs with soft compound BFGoodrich tyres.

24.10.2007 -- The World Motor Sport Council met in Paris on 24 October, 2007. The following decisions were taken:

FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

There will be a total freeze on engine development for a period of 10 years, starting from 2008. A change can be made after five years but only with the unanimous agreement of all stakeholders and following a further two-year notice period. Total freeze means that there will be no exceptions for development of certain parts of the engine, as is the case under the current regulations.

A number of amendments were adopted for the 2008 Sporting Regulations and the 2008 and 2009 Technical Regulations. For full details please refer to www.fia.com.

10/22/2007, Japan -- The anti-penultimate round of the 2007 World Rally Championship takes crews to Japan where Citroën Sport has entered two Citroën C4 WRCs for its usual line-up of Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Martí.

After back-to-back visits to Catalonia and Corsica, WRC competitors barely had a week to catch their breath before heading out to Japan's northernmost island, Hokkaido, which hosts the calendar's 14th round, the action of which takes in gravel roads near the city of Obihiro.