WRC
Here's how Citroën is transforming it's C3 WRC, with a little help from Sébastien Loeb.
The higher you fly, the further you fall. For Citroën, the most successful manufacturer in rallying history, boasting 97 WRC victories (that's 12 more than Ford) and eight Manufacturers' world titles, there's a long way to plummet when things go wrong.
That's exactly what's happened during the 2017 WRC season. To put it bluntly, the new C3 WRC started off life as a bit of a dog. Or, as Citroen management put it, the new car has, "fallen somewhat short of expectations." Luckily for Citroën, help was at hand from the best rally driver of all time, Sébastien Loeb, who stepped in to help test the car ahead of Rallye Deutschland in a bid to help improve the car.
Here's what you do if you happen to have a rally car that isn't quite there.
1. Check to see if it's the drivers rather than the car
Very often, the main problem with a tricky rally car is the nut behind the steering wheel. Rally cars are also notoriously tricky to develop, as the parameters of a test stage are much more variable than the known quantities of a circuit.
So, after several big shunts in Argentina and Italy, Citroën decided to suspend Kris Meeke for Rally Poland. They brought in Andreas Mikkelsen – who finished third in the World Rally Championship for the past three years – to join the driver line up. Meeke remains the only driver to win a rally with a Citroen C3 WRC for now, though.
2. Change some of the key components
From the very start, it seemed like the C3 WRC had some wayward handling characteristics. In particular, it kicked like a mule over even innocuous bumps, as Meeke's crash in at the season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo showed. This pointed the finger at suspension and dampers, with some new components then tried out that improved the situation. Teams tend to be quite cagey about supplier contracts, but an accident that removed the front wing of the C3 during Rally Finland inadvertently revealed a new damper set up.
3. Test, test and test again
Before Rallye Deutschland, Citroën undertook the biggest individual test in its history, running for six days straight on asphalt with all the team drivers, plus special guest Loeb. The intense test covered all aspects of asphalt performance, with positive results – Andreas Mikkelsen lead Rallye Deutschland. A similarly comprehensive test is planned for gravel. Practice makes perfect.
4. Ask a nine-time champion what he thinks
Time for Citroën to play the ace in its hand: Sébastien Loeb. The French ace tested the car and hasn't ruled out a competitive outing in it next year. His conclusion was that the speed is there, but that the C3 is so difficult to drive that it's hard to get the best out of it.
"It's a competitive and a quick car, but not easy to drive: it can be brutal in fact," summed up Loeb. "In the dry it's good, but it gets trickier in the wet – although that also depends on which compound tyres you're running. It's definitely different to what we had before. I need to know it better, but I was already able to pass on a few ideas."
The feeling is a little bit like a racing car, fast but unforgiving
Citroën boss Yves Matton is also open to the idea of reuniting with his most successful driver on a more permanent basis. "First Sebastien would have to test again, to see his level, but nothing has been discussed yet."
5. Think strategically and don't panic
Citroen had already written off this year's World Rally Championship campaign before the summer began and are concentrating exclusively on next year. While the situation might look dramatic from the outside, it's not unusual to take a while to get up to speed, especially with a brand new car.
Back in 2002, the very first Citroen Xsara WRC only won one rally, but went on to spawn a hugely successful generation of WRC conquerors. So there's hope for the beleaguered C3, especially with Loeb on board. "By the end of September, we hope to have our drivers for next year, and we've been talking to everyone who's available," said out Matton. "But already, we're moving forwards."
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