Pierre Budar and Citroën look forward to 2019 “with more serenity”

Despite a season marked by only one victory (Spain with Sébastien Loeb), the end of the C3 season WRC offers real reasons for hope in the Citroën clan, according to boss Pierre Budar. The new manager of the Reds sees in the performances of Sébastien Loeb, Craig Breen and Mads Ostberg, third last weekend in Australia, the validation of a real change in the team.

“We obviously had our ups and downs, but I remember that the second part of the season was rather better, with our podiums in Finland (2nd) and here, as well as our victory in Spain. As such, I would also like to warmly thank Mads and Torstein as well as Craig and Scott for their respective contributions.

By always giving their all, they have made an intimate contribution to this recovery of the situation and we have also forged strong bonds with them. A basic trend has established itself in the functioning of the team, which allows us to look forward to 2019 with more serenity.

If we are still in the process of transforming, and to do so we need to continue to work hard and make further progress, things are gradually falling into place and are clearly moving in the right direction. »

Imminent rollovers for Ogier and Lappi

In 2019, Citroën Racing will almost make a clean slate from 2018 in terms of drivers, with the recruitment of Sébastien Ogier, titled for the sixth time yesterday (the second in a row with M-Sport Ford), and Esapekka Lappi, major element of Toyota in the attribution of the Manufacturers crown to the Japanese firm.

The two new elements of the French brand should very quickly find themselves behind the wheel of the C3 WRC, Citroën leaving its luggage at home this week. “As soon as we return to Europe, we will prepare to start testing again with our new crews, so that they can discover the C3 WRC and we can continue its development, comments Budar.

We have known for some time now that we are going to work together, it is now becoming concrete, and it is particularly motivating for the whole team to take action. »

With the hope of returning in 2019 to a level of performance which should put Citroën Racing back in a position to play leading roles, both among Drivers and Manufacturers.

Discover the full report and analysis of the Rally from Australia, produced by our special correspondent in Coffs Harbour, in issue 2192 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.