WRC – Matton: “Make the transition smoothly”

Ritual question on the eve of a new season: what are the objectives that have been set for you for 2013?
As in previous years, we are aiming for the Drivers' and Manufacturers' World Champion titles. After nine consecutive crowns, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena will only be present on four rallies, this means the start of a new era for the WRC. We will do everything to ensure that Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen are their successors. They have been vice-World Champions four times in the last five years, so we can consider that they are ready to take the final step. Thanks to the reinforcement of Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio, I believe that we have three efficient and reliable crews, capable of scoring big points on each rally. This will be the key to winning a ninth Constructors' title.

You will therefore be juggling three crews from one rally to the next. Isn't this likely to be destabilizing for the team?
The team has always been organized so that no one is irreplaceable. I think we are lucky to be able to count on Seb and Daniel on a few events. In addition to the accounting contribution that we can expect from such a crew, this will allow us to make the transition smoothly. Mikko will be able to take on the role of No. 1 driver with peace of mind and Dani will get back into the swing of things during the first two events before being established in the official team in Mexico.

The World Championship will begin without Khalid Al Qassimi and Scott Martin, who will return to Sweden. Why ?
We have established the season schedule for our crews taking into account our human and material resources, which are by no means unlimited. Khalid is going to have a busy season. He has already completed several test sessions at the wheel of the DS3 RRC and his test program will continue until the start of the Middle East Championship on January 25 and 26 in Qatar. The MERC is an important program for Khalid but also for Citroën Racing. We all felt that he needed to concentrate completely on this first objective.