Confirmation of the results of October's Elpa Rally by the FIA's International Court of Appeal has put the official seal on the final classification of the 2007 European Rally Championship*. The decision hands a second European crown to CITROËN C2 Super 1600 driver Simon Jean-Joseph following his first success in the series in 2004.

Despite the delays in the awarding the Drivers' title after the final round in Antibes, France, there is no doubt that Simon Jean-Joseph, Jack Boyère and everyone at Citroën Sport put in an excellent ERC campaign and, after a wait of almost one month, the Citroën driver can at last savour his success: "I'm obviously delighted. It's a shame we weren't able to celebrate immediately after the Rallye d’Antibes with Jack Boyère, PH Sport and Citroën Sport who all worked tirelessly to secure this result. I am proud to have won the title because we really had to work very hard for it. At the start of the year, it wasn't sure that we would contest the entire championship but Citroën and our partners kept renewing their confidence in us as the season progressed. The positive outcome justifies the decision to stay with the adventure all the way to its successful conclusion!"

Citroën Sport's Customer Competition Manager Yves Matton was also highly satisfied with the campaign: "Our objective at the beginning of the season was to be as consistent as possible and score as many points as we could on the first three rounds. The early results were encouraging and the decision was taken to extend the programme with the backing of our partners, Total and BFGoodrich, and also that of Simon's partners. We wanted to demonstrate the reliability and competitiveness of the CITROËN C2 Super 1600 and I think we did both. Winning the European title is a fitting reward for everyone in the team. They gave everything they had and I am very proud of them."

Interview with Simon Jean-Joseph, 2007 FIA European Rally Champion
This year saw you win your second European title after your success in 2004. Which was the more difficult?
"This year's title was undoubtedly the more difficult. In 2004, we were chiefly up against two-litre Kit-Cars and Super 1600 cars and it was an all-asphalt series. The performance gap was smaller than it was this time round compared with the Super 2000 cars, especially on gravel."

The season didn't get off to the best of starts…
"We were halted by a technical problem on the Mille Miglia. In Turkey, we posted some decent times on gravel but we were unable to rival with the IRC Super 2000 cars, although we were only half a second per kilometre off the times of the four-wheel drive cars on certain stages! The average speed was more than 100kph and the rally was very reminiscent of Finland… without the jumps. I then finished on the podium in Croatia which gave my points score a big boost. In Poland, I was competing for the first time with the CITROËN C2-R2 but we didn't score any points despite a faultless run against the Super 1600s and R3 cars. After that, I was disappointed by my performance in Ypres. I had a big scare during shakedown and I failed to find a good pace during the event itself. The situation in the championship wasn't ideal at the season's halfway point but, with five rounds still to come, everything was still possible."

The turning point seemed to come in Bulgaria?
"I had to finish on the podium if I wanted to keep my title hopes alive, and we came second, just 18 seconds behind the winner who was competing on home ground. Everything seemed to snap into place on that event and I succeeded in making full use of the CITROËN C2 Super 1600's potential, which in turn improved my confidence. In Madeira, I drove like I have rarely driven in a bid to score as many points as I could. I particularly recall the final stage of Leg 1 when I managed to ease into third place by less than two seconds. That gave us an extra point…"

You had another difficult weekend in the Czech Republic…
"That rally is nonetheless one of my best memories of the year! A brake problem saw us drop almost three minutes at the end of Leg 1 but we continued to push and managed to finish fifth after what proved to be a drama-packed event! Another great moment was the Elpa Rally. We had a good run on the opening day on asphalt before switching to gravel for the second leg. The loose stages were far from ideal for us but the experience was fantastic! I pushed as hard as I could to keep up with the S2000 cars and we ended up taking second overall. That gave me an edge over my rivals going into the final round in Antibes where another podium finish enabled me to clinch the title."

In addition to the European Championship, you also took part in certain rounds of the IRC to promote different Citroën models. How was that experience?
"My mission was to showcase the potential of the CITROËN C2 Super 1600 and the R2, especially in countries not visited by the WRC. It was very enjoyable and it enabled me to discover some new events. I especially remember Russia which I only really knew through the media. It was great to see so many people take an interest in our sport; the start ceremony in Saint Petersburg was simply phenomenal!"