Citroën is counting on the first day to stand out

After the madness caused by Sébastien Loeb's victory in Catalonia (Spain), it is time for Citroën Racing to return to its usual crews for the final of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in Australia (November 15-18). In spectator mode in Spain, Mads Ostberg will return to service alongside Craig Breen.

This final episode of Little Big Racing by @citroen will take place at Coffs Harbor in Australia. Often voted the finest rally, #C3WRC driver @Craig_Breen and @scottmartinat will need to face the winding and treacherous Austalian roads while still maintaining a rapid pace pic.twitter.com/CBbvNZjiHV

— Citroën Racing (@CitroenRacing) November 10, 2018

For the French brand, the only challenge will be to “end the season on a good note” according to Pierre Budard, brand director at Chevrons. Indeed, both in the Drivers' and Manufacturers' rankings, there is not much left to gain. Citroën Racing will finish the season in fourth place while Craig Breen (9th) has Andreas Mikkelsen's 6th place in his sights.

“We will have to hope that the weather is good on the first day and also know how to exploit our starting order to be able to play our card to the fullest”, says Pierre Budar. For Craig Breen, it will be about finishing the rally from Australia for the first time in his career, having given up in 2017.

“If I discovered these special stages last year, I showed good top speed, until I was unfortunately surprised on Sunday by a big storm. This year, the course returns to some older portions from 2014 to 2016, but I love this event and I will do everything to compensate for this lack of knowledge of the terrain. I am hopeful of being there at the right pace, like on the first gravel day of the recent Rally of Spain. »

Nice weather & nice stages at recce. @RallyAustralia stages switching between fast & flowing and more narrow & technical stages. #WRC #RallyAustralia @CitroenRacing pic.twitter.com/INV0phO89k

- Mads Østberg (@MadsOstberg) November 13, 2018

His teammate Mads Ostberg, slightly more experienced (fourth participation), returns to the C3 WRC after more than a month of break. “It’s been a while now since I last drove my C3 WRC and I hope my rehabilitation time will be as short as possible. With our position on the track, we a priori have all the cards in hand to do well, it is now up to us to know how to take advantage of it. »