Citroen C4 Wrc 2007-2010
The Citroën C4 WRC is a World Rally Car built for the Citroën World Rally Team by Citroën Racing to compete in the World Rally Championship.
It is based upon the Citroën C4 road car and replaced the Citroën Xsara WRC The car was introduced for the 2007 World Rally Championship season and has taken the drivers' title each year since in the hands of Sébastien Loeb, as well as the manufacturers' title in 2008, 2009 and 2010The C4 WRC and Loeb maintained a 100% record on asphalt events during its WRC career, winning all 13 pure asphalt rounds of the World Rally Championship.
Competition history
2007
The car made its debut at the 2007 Monte Carlo Rally in the hands of Citroën World Rally Team drivers Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Sordo. Loeb won the rally after leading throughout, with Sordo finishing as runner-up, with the pair winning the first nine of 15 stages. Loeb went on to win seven of the remaining 15 rallies that season to beat Ford's Marcus Grönholm to the title by nine points. Sordo finished fourth in the standings.
2008
Citroën retained Loeb and Sordo in their team for 2008, with Loeb winning 11 out of 15 rallies to take the title, while Sordo finished third in the standings. This was enough for Citroën to regain the manufacturers' crown.
C4 WRCs were also run by privateer squad PH-Sport for Conrad Rautenbach and Urmo Aava during the season, as well as for Junior World Rally Championship winner Sébastien Ogier at the final event of the season, Rally GB. Ogier lead the event early on despite it being his first in a WRC car.
2009
In 2009, Loeb and Sordo once again drove for the factory squad, with Loeb winning the first five events of the year and then winning the final two to beat Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen to the title by just one point. Sordo finished a solid third as Citroën retained the manufacturers' title.
PH-Sport ran a second team of C4 WRCs under the Citroën Junior Team banner for Rautenbach and Ogier, with Evgeny Novikov, Chris Atkinson and Aaron Burkart also appearing under the banner during the year. Petter Solberg ran an old Xsara WRC for his own team for most of the season, before switching to a C4 WRC for the penulitmate round, and was then entered under the Junior Team banner for the final round of the season.
2010
Loeb and Sordo continued with the factory team into 2010, while the Junior Team ran Ogier and Kimi Räikkönen. Ogier, though, had a strong start to the season (including a win in Portugal) and so was swapped with Sordo for gravel rounds in the second half of the season. Ogier then won the 2010 Rally Japan as a factory driver.
Petter Solberg drove a C4 WRC for his own team and picked up eight podiums over the season, finishing third in the final standings, ahead of work's drivers Ogier and Sordo.
WRC victories
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No. Event Season Driver Co-driver 1 
75ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo2007 
Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena2 
21º Corona Rally México2007 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena3 
41º Vodafone Rally de Portugal2007 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena4 
27º Rally Argentina2007 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena5 
26. ADAC Rallye Deutschland2007 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena6 
43º Rally RACC Catalunya – Costa Daurada2007 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena7 51ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France2007 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena8 
1st Rally Ireland2007 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena9 76ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo2008 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena10 22º Corona Rally México2008 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena11 28º Rally Argentina2008 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena12 
5º Supermag Rally Italia Sardinia2008 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena13 
55th BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally2008 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena14 
58th Neste Oil Rally Finland2008 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena15 27. ADAC Rallye Deutschland2008 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena16 
38th Repco Rally New Zealand2008 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena17 44º Rally RACC Catalunya – Costa Daurada2008 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena18 52ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France2008 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena19 
64th Wales Rally of Great Britain2008 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena20 2nd Rally Ireland2009 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena21 
3rd Rally Norway2009 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena22 
37th Cyprus Rally2009 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena23 43º Vodafone Rally de Portugal2009 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena24 29º Rally Argentina2009 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena25 45º Rally RACC Catalunya – Costa Daurada2009 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena26 65th Wales Rally of Great Britain2009 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena27 23º Corona Rally México2010 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena28 
28th Jordan Rally2010 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena29 
6th Rally of Turkey2010 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena30 44º Vodafone Rally de Portugal2010 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia31 
41st Rally Bulgaria2010 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena32 28. ADAC Rallye Deutschland2010 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena33 
6th Rally Japan2010 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia34 2010 Rallye de France2010 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena35 46º Rally RACC Catalunya – Costa Daurada2010 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena36 66th Wales Rally of Great Britain2010 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena
Gallery
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Citroën C4 WRC at the 2006 Paris Motor Show.
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Sébastien Loeb at 2007 Rally Catalunya.
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Urmo Aava at 2008 Rallye de France.
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Sordo at 2008 Rally Catalunya.
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Loeb at 2009 Rally Cyprus.
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Sébastien Ogier at 2009 Rally Australia.
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Petter Solberg at 2010 Rally Bulgaria.
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Kimi Räikkönen at 2010 Rally Bulgaria.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ford Focus WRC |
Autosport Awards Rally Car of the Year 2008–2010 |
Succeeded by Mini John Cooper Works WRC |