Sordo with 5 minute penalty start in Sweden.

[DonJippo]

5 min after would have given him an 6th place in Monte

Plus another ten minutes that he will lose on stages...

[Roy]

The engine was crashed all ready. Can they change a new engine for Sweden if it was broken allready without penalty?
Like gardemeiste/Suzuki did. Not yet broken, but quit him, for better result in Sweden
Don't forget: Sordo helps Citroen in Monte at 1 point. He do that not in Sweden.

this text is wrong english :\ When I read back, I thought I can't understand my own text.

Again.
Case: Sordo has a engine failure. He didn't changed the engine in Monte and didn't restart. What happened? He gets his 5 min. penalty in this case too? I think it is. His engine was broken already.
It is different in Gardemeister case. His engine was not broken yet. Toni can better stop and go with a new engine in Sweden, where he can score some points.

Sordo goes further and scores a point for Citroen in Monte. Very clever. In Sweden would be difficult. With or no 5 min penalty.

My question in brief: Was it possible for Sordo/Citroen to avoid the penalty if the team retire him from rally?

[jparker]

My question in brief: Was it possible for Sordo/Citroen to avoid the penalty if the team retire him from rally?

The answer is yes.

If the car finishes the first and/or second Rally of a
Link (thus appearing in the final classification) and the
seals are found to be destroyed before the second or
third Rally of the Link (except for a change of oil pan),
a 5-minute penalty may be imposed by the stewards
at the next Rally.

I'm not sure if I have understood the rules correctly, but I'll give it a try.
It looks like the rules for engine replacement have changed for 2008.
One of them is the links (number of events run with same engine). Last year the links were defined by FIA.
Not anymore. This year it's up to Manifacturer to decide how to link same engine to what events.
They have limit of 5 engines, so they can link them the way they want, but that has to be decided and submitted
to FIA prior their first event for 2008. For example, it's possible for a Manufacturer to use the same engine
in 8 linked events, and then use new engine for each of the remaining 4 events.

About Sordo's case.

Based on the above and the fact that Sordo is getting 5 min penalty, we learn the following.

1. Citroen have linked Monte and Sweden.
2. They didn't retire the car in Monte, so they have to use the same engine in Sweden, or get 5 min penalty and use new engine.

Based on the above here are my 3 guesses about Citroen's decision.

1. After inspecting the engine Citroen decided that the engine is good for the last day of Monte and Sweden. Later on they found that the engine is no good for Sweden, so 5 min penalty is inevitable.

2. Citroen decided that 5 min penalty is not big deal, they have written Sordo off from Sweden anyway

3. Citroen screwed up in their decision

[koko0703]

It's a pity for Sordo but as far as the rally goes, he won't be there anyway to challenge for the win in Sweden regardless of the penalty. But of course, it may hurt Citroen later in the manufacturer championship.

[A.F.F.]

Based on the above here are my 3 guesses about Citroen's decision.

1. After inspecting the engine Citroen decided that the engine is good for the last day of Monte and Sweden. Later on they found that the engine is no good for Sweden, so 5 min penalty is inevitable.

2. Citroen decided that 5 min penalty is not big deal, they have written Sordo off from Sweden anyway

3. Citroen screwed up in their decision

Options 1. and 3. are linked I'm betting either one of them.

[cut the b.s.]

Its a shame for Dani, but its maybe not that bad a thing for him, he now has no pressure at all on him for this event and can just go drive the event.
I think people are underrating him away from tar surfaces and while I dont expect him to win on gravel or snow this year I think he will surprise some people over the season with his pace, he is a thinking driver and it will come good for him

[COD]

Or could it be that Citroen thought Sordo had better chance of scoring points in MC tahn SWE?

Also could it be that Citroen test new parts in Sordos car and plays it safe with Loeb???

[Motorsportfun]

It's a shame for Dani!

[PuddleJumper]

I think Citroën made the right choice. Sordo scored 1 point for them in Monte Carlo. Even without the 5 minute penalty in Sweden, I don't think he'd be able to score any more.