Budar: “Our crews showed a lot of pugnacity”

The Citroën Racing team did not come far from a podium at Wales Rally GB 2018. Accustomed to the harsh climate of Wales (he grew up in Ireland), Craig Breen got off to a quiet start (sixth on Friday, 48”8 behind the leader Ott Tänak) before increasing the pace the next day.

It was a stunning @WalesRallyGB which kept it promises with its tricky muddy roads! Despite those typical Welsh conditions our crews showed a consistent pace and put some good points in the bag! #WRC pic.twitter.com/lU2QKL225K

— Citroën Racing (@CitroenRacing) 8th October, 2018

Taking advantage of the Finn's retirement, Craig Breen could decently hope to finish third, but it was without counting on a spin during the last stage. The 28-year-old driver thus settled for fourth final position.

Mads ostberg made a show by driving with an advertising banner hanging on the left side of his C3 WRC. The Norwegian went the opposite way to his teammate, falling from fourth to eighth place in the final sprint.

For Pierre Budar, team director at Chevrons, the main thing lies in the level of performance of the French car. “During the second stage for example, out of nine stages contested, we were in the top three six times with at least one of our C3 WRCs, when it was not both, thanks in particular to a scratch.

While our rivals compete for titles at the end of the season, it is the sign that we are in the match, whatever the driving conditions." As often, the rally formerly known as “RAC” fought sometimes in the mist and mud, sometimes on wet or even dry roads, but always in the cold.

Wowooooooooah!! Sliding sideways into the finish of SS12
#WRC | @WalesRallyGB @CitroenRacing pic.twitter.com/kiiPkVH6Ru

- Mads Østberg (@MadsOstberg) 6th October, 2018

Breen “mentally stronger”

The director of Citroën Racing also praises Craig Breen's performance (which is 8th in the general classification without having competed in the Mexico rally and the Tour de Corsica). “We had to play our cards hard on the last day of racing and that’s what Craig did it without complexes. However at this level of commitment, of attack, a small error quickly happens, especially on such slippery ground., he analyzes.

In any case, I note with pleasure that our crews showed a lot of pugnacity throughout the weekend, in never admitting defeat despite a departure order on the first day which could have immediately compromised their chances to appear well. »

Its operating engineer Thomas Breton agrees with this. “It’s already been a few rounds sincehe is mentally stronger, but this was not necessarily noticed in the result, because there was always this little grain of sand which jammed the machine”, he explains, referring in particular to theCitroën C3 conflagration in Türkiye in September.

We have finished #WalesRallyGB in 4th place overall. It has been a great weekend, on the pace, fighting for the win. I pushed hard and it didn’t pay for this time, but there will be plenty more!

Massive thanks to the team, Spain is up next pic.twitter.com/b8DZOIidHn

— Craig Breen (@Craig_Breen) 7th October, 2018

" I think that it will do him good to have carried out a rally in the fight. Since Sweden, the hazards meant that he was often forced into a waiting race and suffered from a lackluster Friday. There, he will be able to approach Spain in a more serene way! »

Discover the analysis of Wales Rally GB carried out by our special correspondent in issue 2186 of AUTOhebdo, available in digital version on all platforms, and on newsstands this Wednesday.