Final Leaderboard

1. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen C4 3h 22m 50.5sec 2. D Sordo/M Marti E Citroen C4 +13.8sec 3. M Gronholm/T Rautiainen FIN Ford Focus RS +39.8sec 4. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS +1m25.8sec 5. F Duval/P Pivato B Citroen Xsara +2m28.7sec 6. P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza +2m54.1sec 7. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS +3m38.2sec 8. C Atkinson/S Prevot AUS Subaru Impreza +4m22.4sec 9. X Pons/X Amigo E Subaru Impreza +5m04.1sec 10. H Solberg/C Menkerud N Ford Focus RS +10m32.2sec

1. BP-Ford

2. Citroen Total

3. Subaru

4. OMV Kronos Citroen

5. Stobart M-Sport Ford

6. Munchis Ford

1. BP-Ford

BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen today claimed their 10th podium finish from 12 rallies this season in Rally de España. The Finns were third at the wheel of a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car to remain clear leaders of the FIA World Rally Championship with four rounds remaining. Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen were fourth in another Focus RS to ensure BP-Ford retains a healthy lead in the manufacturers' standings.

Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen: "Second was the result I really wanted here but that wasn't to be and I can't change it. I still have a good championship lead but when I lost 30sec in the wet on Friday, my hopes of first or second were destroyed. I just wasn't confident driving in those conditions on dry slick tyres and I was too careful."

Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen: "First and second was what we really wanted here but in Friday's damp conditions I struggled. In the dry, however, I did really well and I enjoyed driving on these roads. I hit a fence on the penultimate stage but it wasn't a big problem. I tried to take the perfect line but the fence was in my way. I'm not sure if it's there any more - although it was quite a strong fence!"

2. Citroen Total

After the shouts of joy that could be heard emanating from the Citroën Sport camp yesterday evening in the service park to hail the win of the French rugby squad over the All Blacks, there were further cheers today to celebrate the Citroën C4 WRC's one-two result on this weekend's 2007 Rally Catalunya, with Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena winning ahead of their team-mates Dani Sordo/Marc Martí.

Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "We continued at the same pace as yesterday.

Today's stages

were 16 and 26km, so they were quite long and it was crucial to stay concentrated. I made a point of not taking any risks, not cutting the corners too much and lifting over the dirtier portions. Running on hard compound dry weather BFGoodrich tyres, our Citroën

C4 WRC ran

like clockwork and I am very happy to have won."

Dani Sordo/Marc Marti: "Having to manage our position isn't the most exciting or easiest of tasks. Even so, we still had fun today again. We have finished ahead of Grönholm and I am delighted to have met the target we were set."

3. Subaru

The three Subaru World Rally Team cars of Petter, Chris and Xevi all

finished inside the top ten after the final leg of Rally Catalunya. The

third and final day of the event saw the pace of the Impreza WRC2007s

improve, recording better stage times throughout the day.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "I'm pleased. We experimented with a few things

today and it seems to be working better again. This weekend we've ended up

doing quite a bit of useful testing ahead of the next rally. I'm sure it

will be even better in Corsica; we have some things in our pocket and I hope

we can show some better performance there. Overall the weekend has been

good, the team has been working well and we've taken a good step forward."

Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot: "We brought the car to the finish okay, but

I'd like to have got a better placing than eighth. Unfortunately this

weekend we weren't able to match the times we set in Germany. But it's

certainly not been a bad rally, and there's a lot to be optimistic about

ahead of the next asphalt events. I think Corsica and Ireland will suit us a

little better than here, so I'm looking forward to them."

Xavier Pons/Xavier Amigo: "It's good to get to the finish, but it hasn't

been my best year on this rally. We had quite a few problems on Friday.

Okay, yesterday

was good, but today it's been difficult again. It's been very useful though,

and we did a lot of testing for Corsica which should help us next week."

4. OMV Kronos Citroen

The OMV Kronos Citroen World Rally Team has finished the "Movistar

RallyRACC" at the Costa Daurada with a feeling of success. The

Belgian-French duo Francois Duval and Patrick Pivato secured a very good

fifth overall place. This means four points both in the FIA World Rally

Championsghip for drivers as well as in the manufacture ranking. OMV driver

Manfred Stohl, on the other hand, is left with the hope for a good result in

Corsica next week.

Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor: Retired (accident)

Francois Duval/Patrick Pivato: "The four works drivers ahead of me gave a

nearly faultless performance. Therefore they were simply out of reach for

us. We knew that Spain would be an extremely tough rally and that a place on

the podium would only be possible if Citroen or Ford got into trouble. But I

believe that our chances will be better in Corsica where we will be able to

compete for a top-3-place once again."

5. Stobart M-Sport Ford

All three Stobart VK M-Sport Ford crews have finished strongly at this

weekend's Rally RACC Catalunya Costa Daurada, round 13 of the FIA World

Rally Championship. Continuing his run-of-form Jari-Matti Latvala, with

co-driver Miikka Anttila, has finished top of the trio in seventh position;

maintaining the team's fourth position in the manufacturers' championship.

Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud: "This event has been a great help for me in

my attempt to improve my driving style and increase my experience on

asphalt. We had no problems at all with the car which meant it was easier to

concentrate on driving and improving my confidence and technique on this

surface. I was learning so much with every stage I completed during this

event and I have to say that to be inside the top-ten, on my first attempt

here, is a very good feeling for me. It was extremely important for me to

finish here as the things I have learnt on this rally will be fresh in my

head when we go to Corsica next week. I have to be smart, think ahead and be

prepared for Corsica; what I take from this event will be important for the

next one."

Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila: "I'm very pleased with my performance as

we didn't make any mistakes but were able to be consistently quick. It's

also quite promising to have no problems with the car and to have a clean

run. I have taken a lot from this rally with regards to my driving technique

but I still know there is lots of room for improvement in other areas. The

most important thing for me has been my increased consistency. In Monte

Carlo my speed was very up and down but now I am more in control and am able

to keep the speed level all of the time. My driving has improved so much

when I look back as to how I tackled these stages last year."

Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr: "It's been quite a sensible rally for me and I'm

glad I didn't do anything silly before Corsica. I have actually learnt quite

a lot from this event and it's been excellent preparation for the next

round. The first day was very slippery and difficult but when the roads were

dry my confidence was high and things felt really good. It was also

important to finish this event and get all the stages completed and gain the

maximum experience possible in readiness for Corsica. I tried something new

to try and carry more speed through medium speed corners. This was starting

to work but it will take time and it's something that just can't be rushed;

there is still more to come."

6. Munchis Ford

No information available.

7. Skoda Czech Rally Team

Jan Kopecký-Filip Schovánek crashed out of Friday's leg and did not restart.

__________________________________________________________________

Next event

There is no time to relax during this hectic end-of-season period as the

tea,s journey directly to Corsica for round 13 on next weekend's Rallye de

France, another asphalt encounter which is based in Ajaccio on 11 - 14

October.

Hi Skoda Fans

From here you can find some rally pics from Rally RACC Catalunya 2007. I hope you like them.

Tangoteam

BR,

Tango Team motorsport