Citroën's new WRC 2 rally car will make its first public appearance later this month at the Rallye du Var (24-26 November).

The C3 R5 will be driven on the final round of the French Championship by Yoann Bonato who has already sewn up this year's French title in a DS 3 R5. The new car's debut will be as the road-opening zero car since it will not yet have been homologated for competition by the FIA.

The prototype has been involved in a series of tests, both on asphalt and gravel, since September and has racked up more than 4,000km with Stéphane Lefebvre, Craig Breen and Bonato at the wheel. The prototype is now close to the model which will go on sale in the first half of 2018 and will be eligible for the WRC 2 Championship after that.

"It seemed to make perfect sense to ask Yoann to drive the C3 R5 on its first public outing at the Rallye du Var. It will put the spotlight on an excellent driver, who has actively participated in the development of our new customer racing product," Citroën Racing Team Principal Yves Matton explained. 

"The Rallye du Var gives us the opportunity to show the car to anyone who is really interested; it will also enable the technical team to assess the maturity of the development in different conditions to those you get in a test session."

Bonato began his association with Citroën in the 2002 Saxo Challenge, and has driven a DS 3 R5 in the last two WRC 2 seasons. 

"Right from the word go, I was surprised to find such a clean, efficient and drivable car," said Bonato when talking about the promise of the C3 R5.

"It's difficult to compare the car with the previous generation, because everything is really different. Use of the chassis, the engine, ergonomics: you really get the feeling you have moved up a category. 

"At the Rallye du Var, my aim will be to pursue the development work done so far and provide the team with as much feedback as possible, but also to enjoy driving on these fantastic roads."

The Rallye du Var kicks off on Friday, 24 November and is due to conclude at midday on Sunday, after 14 asphalt stages over a total competitive distance of 183km.

Elfyn Evans says the bitter disappointment of missing out on his first WRC win by 0.7s in Argentina this year was what spurred him on to success at Wales Rally GB.

The M-Sport World Rally Team driver was the class of the field in Wales as he led for all three days and secured a winning margin of 37.3sec on home soil.

It was the first outright victory of his WRC career and he also became the first Briton to win his home event since Richard Burns took victory in 2000 with Subaru.

The 28-year-old, who has enjoyed his most successful WRC season to date after finishing second in Argentina and Finland, admitted he used the frustration he experienced in Argentina – where Thierry Neuville pipped him to victory by less than a second – as a catalyst to make history on Wales' wet and muddy forest stages.

"Thierry denied me the first time around, but to be honest half way around [Wales Rally GB] I was determined nobody was going to get in the way this time," he said. "In terms of the feeling, I felt it was within my reach all the time. I like this feeling and want more of it."

Evans managed his Rally GB perfectly, particularly as patchy fog in Saturday night's Aberhirnant stage threatened to turn the leaderboard on its head.

He also showed himself to be masterful at managing his DMACK tyres – albeit in damp and muddy road conditions that many of his rivals thought favoured his soft rubber.

He said: "After shakedown, I think we knew that if conditions came to us then we had the speed there to challenge for victory. But you can never predict anything with this rally. To have a clean run with no problems and no mistakes, no spins, is very difficult here.

"And we’ve had to balance the endurance of the tyre package. We’ve had the performance, but we’ve had to manage the life of the tyres as well. All-in-all, it came together."

Taking his maiden WRC on home soil and being part of such a memorable day for the British-based M-Sport is a memory that Evans will never forget.

"Overall, I'm really pleased and, combined with everything else for the whole team, with Seb [Ogier] and the manufacturers’ crown, it’s been a special day," he added.

Sébastien Ogier believed his dream of a fifth consecutive WRC title was in tatters after a brake problem threatened to derail his bid in Britain last weekend.

Ogier survived a dramatic Saturday night at Dayinsure Wales Rally GB when his mechanical skills were tested to the full repairing his wounded Ford Fiesta.

After an impact in the foggy Aberhirnant speed test punctured the front left tyre, he realised the brakes were also damaged. The remote location meant he was out of radio contact with his M-Sport team and left to fend for himself.

Ogier was caked in mud as he worked frantically to remove the brake disc before heading to the final Dyfnant test. Remarkably, with only three operative brakes, he set fifth fastest time over the slimy forest roads to pave the way for Sunday’s title celebrations.

“We were in the middle of nowhere, in the fog, the night and the mud. I thought it was game over,” the 33-year-old Frenchman admitted.

“I was trying my best to try to fix this car which was quite bad. The front left was missing the discs, the pads, everything. In a very short time we had to find a solution to find some brakes but we drove the last stage and we made it.

“It was very last minute. I thought I would lose quite a lot of time in the last stage but with three brakes it was quite manageable,” he added.

Securing a fifth crown clearly meant a great deal to Ogier, who celebrated at the end of the final Brenig special stage with tears streaming down his face.

After his Volkswagen team’s unexpected WRC withdrawal at the end of 2016, he had little time to piece together a deal and prepare for the new season with the privately-run British-based M-Sport.

“Every title means a lot and the first one you never forget because it’s the achievement of your career that you want. It’s the main one, you need this one,” said Ogier.

“Afterwards, of course, they all taste good as well and you always want more. I always want more that’s for sure, but this one was special because it was a new challenge, new cars, new team - everything was different from last year.

“We had to start very, very late. We started this season with almost no tests in the Fiesta. I knew it would be a tough job to preserve our title and we’ve made it so I think we can be proud of that.”

Newly-crowned world champion Sébastien Ogier has admitted that two heavy crashes in Finland made him consider retirement from the WRC.

Family man Ogier, who sealed his fifth consecutive world title in Britain on Sunday, insisted he has still to decide his future. Frenzied speculation has linked him with a new deal at M-Sport, moves to Citroën or Hyundai, or even retirement.

In the aftermath of defending his title at Dayinsure Wales Rally GB, which the 33-year-old Frenchman said was the most emotional moment of his rally career, Ogier took time to reflect on what happens next.

He suffered two big crashes in a little over a week at July’s Neste Rally Finland, one in testing and the other in the opening day of the event. Asked if he had thought about quitting the WRC at the end of this season, the 33-year-old Frenchman said:

“Consider, yes. Of course, this kind of moment (winning the title) makes me think about the risks you take, especially like in the test. I couldn’t do anything with this crash, it was just bad luck.

“Big rocks in the road, a flat out corner and I had no way to avoid it. It was a big crash coming to me.”

Ogier acknowledged that since his wife, German TV sports presenter Andrea Kaiser, gave birth to their first child, Tim, in June last year, he appreciated family life at his Geneva home even more. But the lure of the WRC remained a big motivation in his decision.

“I am enjoying a lot of time at home with my son and my wife, of course you can see life differently, but when you make a weekend like this….

“I’m not winning this weekend, but it was a big pleasure behind the steering wheel and also we have the fastest WRC car ever. It’s good fun as well.

“I’m always analysing a lot of things in my way of managing the championship and the way of managing my life in general, so I don’t make the decision easily. I’m still working on different options. I’m honest with you, right now I haven’t really decided,” Ogier added.

source: wrc.com