In Portugal Cyril Abiteboul discovered other charms of the WRC

Since joining the WRC, Cyril Abiteboul is not always very gentle with discipline. His criticisms or mixed comments are directed towards the division of the rounds, the service parks too often empty, the work of the promoter or the lack of feedback with the crews and the cars.

Au Portugal, le Français a effectué une visite sur le Douro avec ses collègues Richard Millener de M-Sport et Jari-Matti Latvala du Toyota Gazoo Racing. En plus de leur faire porter un joli chapeau, cette opération était peut-être faite dans le but d’affirmer qu’ils sont tous… dans le même bateau. Plus tard, Abiteboul a pu expérimenter un aspect de ce sport qu’il ne connaissait pas encore en se rendant sur un chrono vendredi matin. « We attended SS2, he smiled as he recounted his discovery. This was supposed to happen since the beginning of the year and I was very happy that it came to fruition here. It was the special ES of Gois. It was far, really far from the park and the rest of the team, but it was worth the trip with lots of people and a superb atmosphere. »

When Guy Fréquelin was the boss of Citroën Sport, he hardly missed any time to observe the passage of his crews, going from one SS to another by helicopter. Abiteboul will probably never be that die-hard, but he liked what he saw. “ It was very impressive, he asserted. The experience of seeing the cars arrive with their huge cloud of dust was fantastic. As in all motorsport disciplines, the fascinating thing was the braking. At the bottom of that hill, you never think the vehicle is going to stop on that surface with so little grip, but that's exactly what happened and it's remarkable. The wind that was blowing also tended to muffle the noise of the cars, but I did not find it unpleasant to witness this passage without hearing their sound. » Quant à savoir si cet habitué des pistes et des pit-lane n’avait pas été trop incommodé par la poussière, celui-ci rigolait en révélant que la position choisie lui avait permis d’éviter ce désagrément. Maintenant que ce premier palier a été franchi, le prochain sera de voir Cyril Abiteboul à côté de l’un de ses pilotes dans l’habitacle de la Hyundai i20 Hybrid Rally1.    

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