Citroën WRC Update

The Citroën DS3 WRCs have had a stroming start on the loose in 2011 – winning all four gravel rallies. Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena were victorious in Mexico and Italy, and Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia were winners in Portugal and Jordan. And the Citroën Total World Rally Team’s aim is to continue this winning streak in Argentina next, back on the events calendar after a year's absence. Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena lead the overall drivers’ classification and they’re aiming for another victory in Argentina: “Our results are the fruit of the whole team’s work. It’s a good sign to see that the Citroën DS3 WRCs seem to have a slight advantage on gravel, but the gaps are tiny at the end of each rally. We’ll have to be quick right from the start, and go pedal to the metal till the end, there’s no question of letting up.” Sébastien Ogier’s only outing in Argentina was in 2009 so he has limited experience in this rally: “We’re coming here with much greater ambitions than two years ago. The route’s fantastic and very varied. You have to have very accurate notes as certain passages are very narrow with big stones on the edge of the line like Mina Clavero and El Condor. Others are more sandy but bumpy as always. Of course, we’re aiming for the best possible result,” Ogier, who is currently lying third in the championship chase, adds. “We’re going try and score good points and close the gap to the leaders.”


Meanwhile, privateers, Petter Solberg and Peter van Merksteijn Jr will drive two Citroën DS3 WRCs  provided by Citroën Racing Technologies in Rally Argentina, the sixth round of the 2011 World Rally Championship. “Petter Solberg has had a very good preparation for this rally,’ said Benoit Nogier, the boss of Citroën Racing Technologies. Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson’s (Petter Solberg World Rally Team) podium finish in Italy achieved their first aim for the 2011 season. In Argentina, the Norwegian will be back in an environment that he knows very well and has raced in the last ten events with three podium finishes.“ I feel stronger than ever. Everything’s possible in Argentina,” he grinned in Sardinia.

The 2011 Rally Argentina has 378 timed kilometres and it is using a route that is quite well known in the valleys of Traslasierra, Punilla, and Calamuchita in the Cordoba region. It will start on Thursday 26th May at 14h40 and will finish early on Sunday afternoon.