Webb’s return

Clubmans racer Barry Webb started his 40th season of racing at Snetterton on Saturday in his Classic Clubmans Mallock MK16BW. Webb first raced in Formula 1300 in 1975 but switched to Clubmans in 1979 and has only missed three seasons since then.

Twelve months ago, Citroen’s trip to South America was the confirmation of a nightmare. The C3 WRC was all over the place and, at times, looked dangerous to try to drive at anything approaching stage speed.

Since then, the French firm has evolved its World Rally Car into a genuine contender and the latest phase of that development will be seen with revised rear geometry at this week’s Rally Argentina.

“The team works tirelessly every day to improve and refine our C3 WRC a little bit more,” said team principal Pierre Budar. “The new rear-axle geometry introduced for this rally aims to provide even more consistent handling, regardless of changes in the road surface and therefore generate greater confidence for all of our drivers.”

Pre-event testing has confirmed the change is a step in the right direction, with both Kris Meeke and Craig Breen offering positive feedback.

Breen told MN: “It’s definitely helped a lot. I’d reserve judgement before I described it as a eureka moment, but it’s a real step. The guys [Meeke and Sebastien Loeb] did a bit of work with this before Mexico and it’s really a big piece of the jigsaw slotting in for us.

“You can take so much confidence from the rear of the car now. Before [this change] any time you put energy, yaw or angle into [the car] you were always a little bit afraid of the rear.”