Citroen roasts opposition on the gravel of Turkey!

Citroen Xsara WRC driver Carlos Sainz has taken his debut win in the Rally of Turkey, the first ever victory on gravel for the championship-leading manufacturer.

Team mate Colin McRae gained overall fourth place, ensuring that Citroen retain the top spot in the manufacturers' battle, extending their lead over the rival Peugeot team to five points.

A hat-trick of stage wins on day two secured the number one spot for Sainz which he held onto throughout Day Three's five stages, with a comfortable lead of more than a minute over Peugeot's Richard Burns. He has gained an extra ten points for the Citroen team, climbed up the Driver's Championship standings to number three and has upped his personal rally win total to 25 - equalling McRae's record and now sharing his title of the world's greatest rally driver.

As McRae said of Sainz earlier: "He's had a great rally, he's set great times and I just couldn't catch him. There's life in the old dog yet!"

McRae started Day Three in the number four spot and his win on the first stage helped to ensure that he would not drop from this position. He finished over 30 seconds ahead of Peugeot's Gilles Panizzi, netting five points for the Citroen team. He is now second in the Driver's Championship standings, with just one point separating him from the new number one, fellow Brit Richard Burns.

Citroen's success on the Turkish gravel brings its total to 39 points in the manufacturer's championship and proves that the Citroen Xsara WRCs respond robustly and competitively to the most difficult terrain in the world.

"This victory is glorious," enthused team boss, Guy Frequelin, "It's even better than the Xsara WRC's first ever win in Corsica. We are now involved in the full Championship and we've taken a win where nobody expected us to. As reliable as ever, the Xsara has proved it's more than a match for its strongest rivals on gravel and is looking very promising for the future."