Citroën catches up at the last minute with a poorly managed Monte-Carlo

After a start of rally less than stellar (Kris Meeke stuck in a ditch losing several minutes), the Citroën Racing team concluded the Monte-Carlo Rally on a positive note with the best time achieved during the Power Stage on Sunday lunchtime.

Chris Meeke et Paul Nagle made up for their Thursday evening blunder by picking up all five points from the Power Stage. Enough to allow them to appear in 3rd place in the Drivers and Co-drivers Championship with 17 units, tied with Jari-Matti Latvala and Mikko Antilla (Toyota) but also to overtake the unfortunate Esapekka Lappi (Toyota) to gain 4th position. This one went off-road in the last few kilometers. “It was the hardest edition of Monte-Carlo that I had ever experienced,” explained Kris Meeke. We saw it all: sharp ice on slick tires Thursday evening, rain Friday, snow Saturday and today frost at the Col de Turini. »

“I'm surprised to finish this rally with seventeen points in my pocket, but I'm happy to take them. It was painful at times not to be able to compete with the best times, but our patience was rewarded in the end. Ending with the Power Stage victory is ideal. We must remain humble and continue our efforts to progress”, admits the one who had given up during the two previous editions.

The other Citroën C3 WRC engaged, that of Craig Breen and Scott Martin, stayed in line until the finish (9th). Few highlights for a relatively inexperienced duo in one of the most unpredictable events on the calendar. “The weekend started off difficult, with our mistake on Thursday evening. Then things went badly with a brake problem on Friday, which meant we had to play the role of snow plow on Saturday. But we showed off on several occasions, and again today in the dry. We must now continue to work in the more changeable conditions, characteristic of Monte-Carlo. »

By placing its two cars in the points, the French brand is in 3rd place in the Manufacturers' ranking with 18 points, ahead of Hyundai.