(21 Oct 04)

Holder of the world record for the number of victories in WRC events, and currently fourth on the Drivers Championship points table, Carlos Sainz has announced his retirement from World Championship rallying at the end of this season with Citroen, whom he helped to the Manufacturers Championship title.

He's been rallying at the top level for 16 years: "After all this I think it is a good moment for me to leave the WRC. It has been an extremely difficult decision, mainly because I still enjoy every single rally. The fact that I am at the moment in the best team, with the possibility of continuing during the next season, makes this decision even more complicated.

"The Citroen team has shown that it is the best, and I hope that in future we can somehow continue to have some kind of relationship."

He's certainly served it well as effectively the number two, this year, to Sébastien Loeb. Carlos and his co-driver Marc Marti have scored seven podium places - in Mexico, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Italy and Corsica, as well as in Argentina, where their outright victory was Carlos's 26th in the WRC, setting a new record.

The Sainz/Marti crew will see out the season with Citroen in Catalunya and Australia. During his career, Carlos has also driven for Seat, Renault, Ford, Lancia, Subaru and Toyota, the team with which he was World Champion in 1990 and 1992.

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