Yves Matton: “Nothing really worked as planned”

With a C3 appearing as one of the new WRC best equipped technically to face the new regulations, Citroën Racing was eagerly awaited on the roads of Rally Monte-Carlo for the official return of the French brand to the World Cup.

But the Monegasque event did not offer the expected scenario for Yves Matton's men. Stéphane Lefebvre quickly damaged his clutch while trying to restart after a deviation from the line, while Kris Meeke was on pace by climbing into second position after SS3.

But the Briton finally made a mistake in the following special, and broke a suspension. Returning to the race on Saturday, however, Meeke had to retire after SS10 after a traffic accident on the link.

“Nothing really worked as planned in this race, explains Yves Matton, boss of Citroën Racing. However, we thought we would be able to have a good weekend after satisfactory testing for the drivers and the team. From the start of the race, Stéphane and Kris made mistakes and we could no longer envisage a significant result at the finish. »

Despite numerous driving sessions in preparation for the winter classic, Yves Matton recognizes that the road conditions seen on this 2017 edition of Monte-Carlo did not work in his drivers' favor.

“We also experienced certain difficulties in finding the right settings for these very particular conditions, never encountered in testing. The C3 WRC is only at the beginning of its operation and we still have a lot of work ahead of us. »

Despite a missed start to the season, Citroën is looking forward and remains focused on its objective of bringing home victories this year, before thinking of a world title in 2018. “We will not forget this rally, because it contains lessons that will be very useful to us in 2018, continues Yves Matton.

We remain positive, for Sweden obviously, but also for Mexico and all the following rounds. Monte Carlo can be a cruel race and we experienced that this weekend. Our goal remains to win races consistently this season. »

Find the report and the complete analysis of the Monte-Carlo Rally, produced by our special correspondents in the Principality, in issue 2098 of AUTOhebdo, already available in digital version, and on newsstands tomorrow.