MEEKEHITSOUTASBREEN ISBENCHEDBYCITROEN Northernirishmansaysfrenchfirmshouldrunanextracar
GROUP RALLYING EDITOR
think is correct is taking Craig out of the car for those three rallies. OK, this isn’t my decision, but for me, Craig has done enough last year and he absolutely deserves the second seat and a full-time drive this year. I’ve been there enough in the years gone by to know how much a driver benefits from being in the car for the complete season and, I think, that’s what we should have done. It’s not really right that the guy who’s building the experience has to stand aside.
“Like I said, that’s not my decision. I can only focus on what I’m doing. I’m pleased with the testing we’ve done and with the way the car’s looking. We’ve made some improvements and we’ve got more to come. We’ll be aiming to score heavily at Monte Carlo and in Sweden in order to get off to a good start in this second campaign.”
Breen wouldn’t be drawn on missing three rallies and insisted on focusing on the positives. He said: “I’m delighted to stay with the team for another year. I had a lot of things to learn this first full year in the WRC, but I managed to be consistent. I’m going to do everything I can to get my first win at events like Rally Finland or Wales Rally GB, where I have a bit of experience.”
Meeke will spearhead the assault this season with the French firm’s only hopes of season-long silverware sitting with the Dungannon driver; Citroen won’t pose a genuine threat to the manufacturers’ title following the decision to only field a third C3 WRC for Khalid AlQassimi on a handful of rallies.
Team principal Yves Matton told MN Citroen’s targets would change despite failing to sign Sebastien Ogier for this season. The defending world champion’s decision to remain at M-sport means Citroen is talking about rally wins for Meeke and Breen and not the 2018 makes’ crown it said it would be chasing when it returned full-time at the start of last season.
Matton told MN: “The aim will be to target podiums and secure some wins, but Kris can also go for position in the championship. We have seen good reliability from Craig last year, but now we want to see him challenging for the podium positions more often and then, maybe in the second half of the year, on rallies where he is more experienced, maybe he could be fighting for the win.”
On the subject of Loeb returning to the team for the first time since the 2015 Monte Carlo (a rally he led before sliding off the road and finishing eighth), Matton added: “I’m also delighted to see that there will be another chapter in the great history between Loeb and Citroen. He couldn’t have returned to the WRC with anyone other than us! Seb confirmed he has lost none of his speed and skill during the test sessions completed, although he is bound to be short of knowledge of the stages and time in the car, compared with the increasingly tough competition.”
Rally Mexico drops complex city stage
Rally Mexico organisers have dropped the controversial Mexico City stage from the itinerary for the March event.
The mile-long stage, which ran twice through the Zocalo central square, was popular with fans. However, the logistics caused significant knock-on problems after the trucks bringing the rally cars north to the Leon service park were caught in traffic, forcing the cancellation of the first two gravel stages.
The organising team hasn’t dropped the idea of taking the event back to the capital city, but it will take this season to fine-tune its plan. Instead, the event will revert to the Guanajuato street stage – which includes the only underground action of the WRC season – for its ceremonial start and opening test on Thursday, March 8.
The loss of the Zocalo stage doesn’t impact overly on the overall mileage being offered, but this year will be the shortest ever Rally Mexico. The crews will tackle 214 competitive miles on the high-altitude stages around Leon, compared with 252 miles of flatchat driving when the rally ran to its longest format in 2012.