An “obviously disappointing” final result for Citroën

The Tour de Corse 2018 edition will not remain among the most pleasant memories of the Citroën Racing season. You have to go down to ninth place to find a C3, that of Kris Meeke in this case. The Briton featured prominently until a grade error on Saturday gets it out of the way.

“The end result is obviously disappointing, recognizes Pierre Budar, the director of the official French team. We clearly had other ambitions for our national event, but it does not reflect our level of performance over the weekend. Although the gaps narrowed on this surface, we were able to set three best times at the height of the fight thanks to Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, while Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle had just grabbed second place, tied with Thierry Neuville, at the time of their misadventure”, he says.

Left on Sunday with the aim of scoring points during the Power Stage (third time), Chris Meeke demonstrated according to Pierre Budar his ability to move forward after a setback. “It was important for Kris and Paul to get back in the saddle quickly and not stay there. Their good Sunday times attest that it's already ancient history and that they have succeeded in remobilizing themselves, with a view to the next deadlines where they will certainly be present. »

The boss of Citroën Racing was finally amazed by the results achieved by the Loeb-Elena pair after their exit in SS2 (14e). “They still had a serious handicap in the face of the competition, namely that of discovering several special stages, including long ones, that the others already knew. Suffice it to say that they were still impressive, despite their lack of practice in the discipline. Where they probably amazed me the most was when they left on Saturday as part of the Rally 2 : when there is no longer any sporting challenge, it really takes a great mentality of champions to achieve the performances they have achieved. »

>>>Find the analysis of the Tour de Corse in issue 2160 of AUTOhebdo, on sale Wednesday on newsstands.<<<