Xavier Pons

Xavier "Xevi" Pons Puigdillers (born 21 January 1980) is a Spanish rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship from 2003 to 2014.

Career Pons started his racing career on motorcycles and won the Spanish enduro national championship in 1998. That same year, he competed with the Spanish junior team at the International Six Days Enduro and won the Junior World Trophy. He was part of the victorious Spanish team again in 2000. He continued riding in the Spanish enduro championship and was the runner-up in 2000 and 2001, also achieving success in the European and the World Enduro Championship.

In 2002, Pons switched to rallying, capturing the Spanish national Group N gravel title the following year. In the national asphalt championship, he finished second. He also debuted in the World Rally Championship at the 2003 Swedish Rally. In 2004, Pons competed in both the Junior World Rally Championship and the Production World Rally Championship. In the production car championship, he took two wins and finished fourth overall in the standings. In the junior class, he was ninth overall, with best placement being third at the Acropolis Rally. He also scored his first points in the World Rally Championship by finishing sixth at the Rally Australia.

Pons' 2005 season included 11 rallies with a World Rally Car and four with a production class rally car. Driving a Peugeot 206 WRC and a Citroën Xsara WRC, he finished in the points twice. His best result was fourth, at the Rally Catalunya. Seven points resulted in a 16th place in the overall championship.

For the 2006 season, Pons signed up for a full WRC season with Kronos Total Citroën, partnering the two-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb. By the ninth event of the season, Rallye Deutschland, he had gathered only 11 points so the team decided to replace him with Dani Sordo as the second driver to collect manufacturers' points. Pons still failed to impress the team, and when Loeb was injured and could not compete at the Rally of Turkey, Kronos hired Colin McRae to stand in. However, at Turkey, Pons finished fourth. He was then promoted to Kronos' second seat again and he went on to finish fourth in Australia and New Zealand and fifth in the final race of the season; the Wales Rally Great Britain. With 32 points, he placed seventh overall in the championship.

Pons driving his Subaru Impreza WRC at the 2007 Wales Rally GB.

Pons' best result in a world rally remains fourth, which he has achieved five times: In 2005 at the Rally Catalunya, and in 2006 at the Rally d'Italia Sardegna, Rally of Turkey, Rally Australia and Rally New Zealand.

After failing to land a drive in a competitive team for the 2007 season, Pons announced that he will be withdrawing from competing in the WRC. However, he vowed to stay in shape, should an opportunity arise for 2008 or for the later 2007 season. The opportunity soon came halfway through the 2007 season as the Subaru World Rally Team signed on Xevi Pons to drive a third car on the remaining events on the 2007 schedule, and contest a full schedule for Subaru in 2008 with an option for Subaru to keep his services in 2009. Despite this, Pons never did return to the Subaru for 2008. Instead, he competed on Spanish national rallies.

In 2010, Pons returned to the WRC in the newly formed SWRC class, driving a Ford Fiesta S2000 for the Nupel Global Racing team. He won his debut S2000 event in Rally Mexico. Pons also won second S2000 event in row by winning in Jordania. In both occasions, he also finished on WRC points. Pons finally won the Super 2000 World Rally Championship in 2010.

Complete WRC results Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Points 2003 Xavier Pons Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V MON SWE52 TUR NZL ARG GRE CYP GER NC 0 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII FINRet AUS ITA FRARet ESP15 GBR22 2004 Xavier Pons Fiat Punto S1600 MONRet CYP GRE16 TURRet FIN28 JPN GBR24 ITARet 19th 3 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII SWE42 MEX16 NZL16 ARGRet FRA12 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII GER15 AUS6 Renault Clio S1600 ESPRet 2005 Xavier Pons Peugeot 206 WRC MONRet MEX10 ITARet JPN 15th 7 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII SWE38 NZL13 CYP38 TUR17 OMV World Rally Team Citroën Xsara WRC GRC10 ARG10 FIN12 GER9 GBR11 FRA7 ESP4 AUSRet 2006 Kronos Total Citroën WRT Citroën Xsara WRC MON9 SWE7 MEXRet ESPRet FRA6 ARG17 ITA4 GRE8 GER14 FINRet JPN CYP7 TUR4 AUS4 NZL4 GBR5 7th 32 2007 Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 MON25 SWERet NOR16 MEX POR ARG ITA GRE 16th 4 Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 FIN6 GER18 NZLRet ESP9 FRA8 JPN35 IRERet GBR9 2010 Nupel Global Racing Ford Fiesta S2000 SWE MEX8 JOR10 TUR NZL10 POR12 BUL FIN GER15 JPN FRA15 ESP GBR 15th 6 2011 RMC Motorsport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X SWE MEX POR JOR ITA ARG GRE FIN GER AUS FRA ESPRet GBR NC 0 2014 Xavier Pons Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X MON SWE MEX POR ARG ITA22 POL FIN NC 0 ACSM Rallye Team Ford Fiesta R5 GER12 AUS FRA20 ESPRet GBR

JWRC results Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 JWRC Points 2004 Xavier Pons Fiat Punto S1600 MONRet GRE3 TURRet FIN7 GBR5 ITARet 9th 12 Renault Clio S1600 ESPRet

PWRC results Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 PWRC Points 2004 Xavier Pons Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII SWE15 MEX5 NZL6 ARGRet GER1 FRA1 AUS1† 4th 27 2005 Xavier Pons Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII SWE4 NZL1 CYP10 TUR4 ARG GBR JPN AUS 5th 20

† Did not score points at the 2004 Rally Australia.

SWRC results

Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SWRC Points 2010 Nupel Global Racing Ford Fiesta S2000 SWE MEX1 JOR1 NZL2 POR2 FIN GER5 JPN FRA4 GBR3 1st 123