Citroën wants to mark the occasion at the Tour de Corse

Citroën intends to continue its good streak. After the victory of Sébastien Ogier au Rally of Mexico, the six-time champion WRC will compete in his national round this week at the Tour de Corse, an event he has won twice including last year's edition in the Ford Fiesta WRC.

“It is not the only event of the season, but the Tour de Corse is, along with the Monte-Carlo, one of the highlights of the year, confirms the Gapençais. It's a legendary rally, very beautiful in terms of driving, and it's my national round. I obviously want to win it, but nothing will happen by itself. The difficulty will be even tougher this year with a largely revised course and there could be quite a few surprises. »

“The first stage will offer new special stages, even if they will not resemble the roads of the 1980s. The courses will be quite wide and smooth where the trajectories will count a lot. The long special on Saturday (the 47,18km from Castagniccia) will, however, be more delicate with narrow and dirty sectors with old tar. The last stage will also offer abrasive roads characteristic of the island. The route is both varied and interesting. »

Sébastien Ogier was able to perfect his learning of the C3 WRC on asphalt by benefiting, like his teammate Esapekka Lappi, from two days of testing.

“We only have two cars, which makes it difficult in the Manufacturers' Championship, but we have the benefit of having more testing days to share. We are both new to the team and we still need to gain experience with the C3 WRC. We were able to ride two days each to prepare for the event. The sensations are good, but he gives us a reference to the clock to know our value”, specifies the reigning world champion.

Esapekka Lappi se satisfait de voir le parcours du Tour de Corse revu en majorité en n’ayant disputé le Tour de Corse que l’an passé où il a terminé au 6e rang sur la Toyota Yaris WRC, un résultat qui aurait dû être meilleur sans plusieurs crevaisons.

“It’s a good thing to have a new course because everyone is equal, confirms the Finn. The stages look really good, except the long one on Saturday which looks dirty. It should be a typical edition with fairly slow and technical courses. The car performed well from the first tests. We didn't have to change much and we should be able to fight at the front. I was already fast last year and I don't see why that would change today. »

“We have assets to showcase, but we do not underestimate the competition, summarizes Pierre Budar, the director of Citroën Racing. They all have a very good level and it's been a long time since we won in France. Saturday's stage promises to be very complicated. It's up to us to be better than others. Our two drivers have never driven this car on an asphalt event in these conditions. The tests allowed our pilots to see the list of available settings. »

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