Sebastien Loeb has given the thumbs up to suspension modifications Citroen racing has made to its C3 WRC, saying the latest gravel set-up inspired confidence.
Loeb, who won nine consecutive world titles between 2004 and 2012, spent two days last week at the wheel of a C3 as he prepares for the first of three WRC outings this year at Rally Guanajuato Mexico [9 – 11 March].
The Frenchman, who celebrates his 44th birthday today [Monday] last drove the gravel-spec car in September [see video below], and was impressed by developments that have been introduced since then.
“I felt better in the car at this test than the time before,” he told wrc.com.
“The evolution of the suspension and the geometry helped give me more confidence, and that’s something I needed. Compared to the old world rally car for sure the engine is stronger and the balance of the car was good. I liked it, everything is going well.”
Citroën team-mate Kris Meeke was first to drive the C3 at the test in Almeria, Spain, and Loeb did not make any big changes to the car set-up when he took over.
“I tried a few different things that the engineer proposed, and at the end the car was not very different from the set-up that the other drivers are using,” Loeb explained. “I made some little adjustments to the diffs and the suspension but for the rest I tried to adapt myself to the car.
“It was a good two days of testing with no big problems. The car felt fast and easy to drive, so it’s looking good.”
source: wrc.com