The fast and furious pace of the 2008 WRC calendar sees the championship's regulars move on to Turkey for the eighth match of the season. Citroën will have two C4 WRCs in Kemer for Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Martí. Two privately-entered Citroëns will also contest the Rally of Turkey in the hands of Conrad Rautenbach/David Senior and Urmo Aava/Kuldar Sikk whose C4s will be run by PH Sport with the support of technicians from Citroën Sport Technologies.

Following its absence from the 2007 World Championship, the Turkish fixture returns this year and will run to a very similar format as before, with a start ceremony and super-special in Antalya and Kemer hosting the service park and Event HQ. The route, too, bears a striking resemblance to the 2006 event, with a programme of 19 extremely selective gravel stages totalling 360.12km of competitive action.

"After the lessons learned in Greece, we are taking a cautious approach to the Rally of Turkey," says Citroën Sport's Technical Manager Xavier Mestelan-Pinon. "This event has always tended to be less rough than the Acropolis, but the stages are still tough on the cars and the probable hot weather means that the tyre factor promises to play a big role, especially if storms break out over the high-altitude stages. Our crews know they will need to take this parameter on board once again, while particular care will go into rebuilding the cars that have just competed in Greece."

Meanwhile, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena have every intention of defending the lead they have recovered in the provisional Drivers' championship standings. "It took three wins in a row to retrieve top spot, so there is no question of letting it slip from our grasp again," smiles Sébastien.

"That said, even though we don't drive as much on bare bedrock here as we did in Greece, I know Turkey won't be easy. The stages are very varied, with a big range of difficulties. On top of that, my last participation on this event was three years ago because my shoulder injury prevented me from starting in 2006. That shouldn't be too much of a problem, though, because the stages have changed little since 2005."

"One big difference, however, will be the tyre factor," adds the winner of 41 world class rallies. "The result could well depend on how well we succeed in looking after our Pirelli tyres. Once again, Daniel and I face the delights of 'road-sweeping' and that promises to be a big handicap, unless the conditions are damp. The work Citroën Sport has put in with the C4 WRC means we will have a competitive, reliable car. To boost our chances and those of Citroën in our respective championships, we will be targeting victory, but I think we can expect a big fight."

Seb's opinion is shared by team-mates Dani Sordo and Marc Martí. "It was in Turkey that I claimed my first fastest time on the loose," recalls Dani. "I've only done the event once, but it went well for me. I remember taking time to familiarise myself with the terrain before fine-tuning my pacenotes and then gradually upping my pace. I like the stages. You can drive with a slightly freer mind than you can in Greece because they're not so hard on the car. To keep up the sort of good runs I've been enjoying recently on gravel, I need to learn to adapt my driving to the condition of my tyres. I know the C4 is capable of challenging for victory, and I'm also aware that everyone in the team is behind me, pushing me forward as they did a fortnight ago. It will now be up to me to profit from all that."