Yves Matton: “Sébastien Loeb will not be at Monte-Carlo”

There will be no Sébastien Loeb with Citroën departing from Rally Monte-Carlo next January for the opening of the WRC 2018. If the nine-time world rally champion admitted to studying the possibilities to play a few rounds for the coming season, we should not count on the presence of the Alsatian for the Monaco classic, as Yves Matton indicates.

The boss of Citroën Racing has not yet officially revealed his drivers for the next global campaign, but the announcement should soon be made. “It’s a matter of weeks, since preparations for the Monte-Carlo Rally will begin in December, Matton says.

I can just confirm that Sébastien Loeb will not be at the start of this first round : the sequence with the Dakar would not allow us to approach this event in the best conditions. » The other certainty will be not to see Sébastien Ogier in red, the world champion having admitted that his future in the discipline would pass through M-Sport.

Expected progress

After a mixed 2017 for Citroën Racing with two successes for Kris Meeke and fourth place in the Manufacturers' standings, the chevron brand is counting on the progress of its C3 WRC to play more regularly at the forefront in 2018.

“Preparations for 2018 began several months ago, comments Yves Matton. In the design office, in the workshop or in testing, the development of the C3 WRC is ongoing. Some developments have already been introduced, others are being validated while awaiting approval.

The technical team gathered around Christophe Besse has a clear vision of the areas in which we must progress. The times achieved in Spain, Great Britain and Australia suggest that our car is competitive. »