Short stories of Citroën's 100 WRC victories

Rally of Catalonia 1999: The very first

Citroën succeeds where Peugeot narrowly failed: winning a round of the World Cup with a Kit-Car, right in front of the four-wheel drive cars! This feat is the work of the late Philippe Bugalski. Responsible for the development of the Xsara, the three-time French champion of the discipline takes advantage of the winding roads of Catalonia (Spain) as well as the lighter weight of his car compared to the WRC (at least -200 kg) to let his talent shine.

Pourtant, rien n’était gagné, car au soir de la première étape, c’est son Jésus Puras, engagé avec une autre Xsara kit car privée, qui menait les débats de sept secondes. Hélas, l’Espagnol renonçait le lendemain en raison d’une avarie électrique. « Bug » contrôlera son compatriote Didier Auriol (Toyota) pour l’emporter avec une trentaine de secondes d’avance. “For Citroën and me, it’s a beautiful day”, Seine-et-Marnais was satisfied.

Tour de Corse 2001: The premiere of the Xsara WRC

The French manufacturer took its time to develop the WRC version of the Xsara. As a result, when it arrived in 2001 on the asphalt rounds, it was already at the level of the proven Subaru, Ford and Peugeot! A good thing to make happen the objective set by boss Guy Fréquelin: at least one victory. 

Deprived of success at San Remo due to overconfidence, Jesus Puras pray to the Lord that his lead built from the first stages holds up. Citroën finds itself deprived of the presence of Philippe Bugalski, who tore off his front left wheel on Friday. Left to his own devices against the Peugeot armada, the Spaniard resisted the “Tarmac Master”, Gilles Panizzi (Peugeot), to win alongside his co-driver Marc Marti. 

Rally Germany 2002: The first of Loeb 

Having come close to a first WRC success at Monte-Carlo a few months earlier (penalized for an illegal tire change while he was in the lead), Sébastien Loeb asserts his authority at the height of his 28 years on German soil. The Alsatian doesn't have an easy time because Richard Burns (Subaru) is right behind him between the vineyards of the Trier region until the final special. And it wasn't a little nosebleed that was going to stop him: 

“Victory is here, and I get it in the rally that I really wanted to win, the one that takes place closest to my house, in front of all my friends, jubilated the future record holder of titles (9). Frankly, I admit to having difficulty realizing it. I have a fantastic car, driven by a team that is no less fantastic. We will gain more. » Prophetic words!

Monte-Carlo 2007: The C4’s turn

The men at Citroën Sport are moving towards evolution when introducing the C4. To properly prepare for the affair, the brand officially withdrew in 2006, in order to transfer all its efforts to the C4. 

It is not the change to BF Goodrich (in 2007) and Pirelli (until 2010) rubber that will disrupt the progress of the Chevrons. As such, the Monte-Carl' 2007 has reference value. While Ford has a mature Focus, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena have no complexes about pushing the all-new C4 to its maximum. Result: a success, accompanied by a double thanks to Dani Sordo and Marc Marti.

The C4 will even become the most successful Citroën in the WRC with 35 rallies won between 2007 and 2010. In the same interval, Ford only won 20.

2011 Sardinia Rally: Lancia beaten

No matter how much you dominate your discipline, it takes time to break records. It would take almost 12 years for Citroën to surpass the record of 73 successes acquired by Lancia between 1974 and 1992. 

It's once again Sébastien Loeb who further anchors the brand founded by André Citroën in the WRC ledger during the Sardinia Rally. " It's the first time I've won such an event, being first on the road all the time. », he recalled then. This time, the big C4 (2 mm wheelbase) has given way to the small DS608 (3 mm), which will last until 2. 

Rally Finland 2016: the fastest 

Jokes about Kris Meeke's generous temperament have become legion. However, the Northern Irishman can be capable of the best as his victorious Rally Finland in 2016 indicates. Engaged by PH Sport, the DS3 WRC swallows up the special stages at a staggering average speed of 126,60 km/h. Never has a WRC rally gone so fast!

“For a WRC driver, winning the Rally Finland is the ultimate goal before becoming World Champion, recognized Kris Meeke. This victory was built in Ouninpohja. When the first pass arrived, I didn't know my time but I knew I had driven well. However, I would not have thought to take thirteen seconds from Jari-Matti Latvala! » We understand why better by looking at the on-board camera: 

Rally Catalunya 2018: The last with Loeb

The nine-time world champion wanted to taste the WRC again after a three-year break. A crazy bet because after all the driving of the new generation C3 WRC varied from its previous cars: 380 horsepower and extremely developed aero ! After two stages on Catalan soil, Sebastien Loeb is 19'' behind the leaders. Not great…

Still as combative despite the years, the Frenchman then begins a comeback. He swallows them all, to find themselves in first place on the morning of the last stage thanks to a good choice of tires. A stall around a roundabout makes the fans' hearts leap, but at the end of the suspense, Loeb-Elena achieve their 79th WRC success!

Monte-Carlo Rally 2019: The 100th

We should no longer be surprised, the WRC rounds have become more indecisive than the races. F1. Thus, the inaugural meeting of the 2019 season saw Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) and Sébastien Ogier to surrender the closest duel in the history of Monte-Carlo (with 87 editions all the same). 

While the Belgian got lost in a lane outside the special on Friday, the outgoing champion, back in the formation of his first laurels, stayed the course, despite a hell of a heat: 

Almost crash of Seb Ogier during Rally Monte Carlo #drift #crash #wrc #crazy #lucky pic.twitter.com/r0MTFcXq1r

— Jef (@rallyjef) 27th January 2019

However, more was needed to dislodge him from first place. Despite a relative lack of knowledge of his machine, the Gapençais, accompanied by Julien Ingrassia, did honor to his n°1 by preserving a 2”2 lead overall! A Sébastien world champion in the colors of Citroën is perhaps not ancient history yet… 

Citroën's WRC victory statistics (after Monte-Carlo 2019)

Number of victories per car:

C4 WRC: 36

Xsara WRC: 32

DS3 WRC: 26

C3 WRC: 3

Xsara Kit-Car: 2

Number of victories per driver:

Sébastien Loeb: 79 

Sébastien Ogier: 8

Kris Meeke: 5 

Carlos Sainz : 2

Philippe Bugalski: 2

Dani Sordo: 1

Mikko Hirvonen: 1

François Duval : 1

Jesus Puras: 1