World Rally Championship regular Stephane Lefebvre tries rallycross

Works Citroen Racing rally driver stephane Lefebvre could make further rallycross appearances following his debut in the French Rallycross Championship at Lavare earlier this month.

Lefebvre raced a Citroen DS3 Supercar for the Knapick Competition squad in the fifth round of the French series, the same team with which compatriot Sebastien Loeb made his European Rallycross debut at Loheac in 2013.

“It all happened very quickly. Xavier Lemonnier, [nephew of team owner, ‘Knapick’] offered for me to try the DS3 Supercar and I did not hesitate for a second,” lefebvre told French publication Echappement. The WRC2 contender conducted 40 miles of testing at the Lessay circuit in the lead up to his maiden rallycross start.

“These are phenomenal cars. This DS3 is a mix of the C4 WRC and the C3 WRC. Steering is trickier and it’s important to avoid overdriving the car,” he said.

Fastest from free practice, lefebvre topped three of the four qualifying sessions, only not setting the best time in Q3 due to a poor start. He won his semifinal and finished the final third after being handed a five second penalty for an overly aggressive move on series regular samuel Peu on the last lap.

It isn’t clear if or when lefebvre will race the DS3 Supercar, but he could follow in Loeb’s footsteps by racing in his home round of the sport’s highest level (now World RX) at Loheac on the first weekend in September, which does not clash with a round of the WRC.