Kris Meeke: “Confidence in the team’s expertise”

In a few weeks, the DS3 WRC will give way to its little sister C3, meeting the new specifications of the 2017 WRC regulations. Like all the brands entered next year in the World Championship, Citroën Racing is increasing the number of driving sessions on dirt or asphalt in order to refine the final details before submission of the approval form on November 1st.

CARhebdo was able to follow one of the C3 test sessions in Spain on Andalusian soil. On this occasion, we were able to speak with Kris Meeke, official driver of the French brand, who followed the entire development of the future chevron weapon in the WRC.

“The cars are still very different, explains the winner of the Rally of Finland 2016. Perhaps they will also require a different driving style. If only because of the reintroduction of the controlled central differential.

It takes a lot of work for engineers to find the right map, to consider all the different possible conditions. Fortunately, Citroën has experience in this area. We think we're going in the right direction, but we won't know until we measure ourselves against others...

Aero is also something that everyone interprets differently. Citroën spent a lot of time in the wind tunnel. Perhaps the C3 has a different look from the other 2017 WRCs, but I have confidence in the analysis and expertise of the team. »

Find our complete file on the 2017 WRC, in issue 2086 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version and on newsstands.