Mads Østberg and Citroën rewarded at Monza

The crown won by Mads Ostberg en WRC2 yesterday upon the arrival of Rally from Monza had a particular taste for the Norwegian. After the period WRC with the French team, it was him, the native of Fredrikstad who had given new impetus to the career of the C3 R5, by bringing his experience of dirt to the French troops, as Yoann Bonato regularly does on the asphalt.

Through hard work, the C3 R5 has become the benchmark in the RC2 category, the world title obtained in Italy rewarding a season punctuated by four victories, despite the Sardinian setback.

“It’s an indescribable feeling, blurted the Norwegian. I'm so happy, especially since the weekend was particularly difficult, and the year was punctuated by ups and downs.

We were in the position of outsiders but we managed to win through self-sacrifice and thanks to the excellent development work carried out on the C3 R5. The whole team, both Citroën Racing and PH Sport, put in an incredible performance throughout the season to achieve such a result. »

Østberg thus defeated Pontus Tidemand (Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) in this final confrontation of the year, and also allowed PH Sport, the operating team of the C3 R5 in WRC2, to achieve new international laurels.

“This is the sixth world title for PH Sport in a Citroën, after those won with Sébastien Loeb in 2001, Dani Sola in 2002, Sébastien Ogier in 2008, Robert Kubica in 2013, Stéphane Lefebvre in 2014 and Mads this year, recalls Bernard Piallat, boss of the Langres team.

The team, as usual, did an extraordinary job throughout the season, the developments introduced by Citroën Racing also paid off, everything worked well. This was the case again this weekend, with the very good climatic information provided by Météo France, as well as the excellent work of the route openers, in particularly tricky conditions. »

2021 should see Citroën Racing introduce new developments to its C3 R5, in order to maintain this benchmark position in a Rally2 category that remains as strong as ever.

Discover the full report and analysis of the Monza Rally, produced by our special correspondent in Italy, in issue 2290 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.