Citroen Racing enters the third dimension
The Citroen Total World Rally Team will be aiming to win its seventh FIA Manufacturers’ World Title in 2011 with the brand new DS3 WRC. Two crews have been entered: Sébastien Loeb-Daniel Elena, gunning for their eighth Drivers’ World Title in succession, and Sébastien Ogier-Julien Ingrassia who have been promoted to the works outfit full time after scoring two victories in 2010. Three more Citroen DS3 WRCs will be driven by privateers: Petter Solberg, Kimi Räikkönen and Peter van Merksteijn.
Citroen Racing, which has been involved in top-level world rallying for ten years, is about to debut its third World Rally car. After the Xsara and C4, which racked up three world titles each, the DS3 WRC will make its bow on the world stage in the Swedish Rally (10th - 13th February). The team, directed by Olivier Quesnel, has one simple but ambitious aim for this key season - to retain its Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ titles.
The Citroen DS3 WRC is a stunning synthesis of ‘Créative Technologie’ that complies with the new regulations drawn up by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). The most visible change is the car’s size. The DS3 WRC is more compact than the C4, which gives it much more spectacular behaviour. The revolution continues under the bonnet with the car powered by a 1.6-litre turbocharged direct injection 4-cylinder engine, designed in-house by Citroen Racing. It is coupled to a 4-wheel drive transmission with a manually controlled sequential gearbox and a constant power sharing system between the front and rear axles.
The Citroen DS3 WRC was unveiled at last year’s Paris Motor Show, and has since undergone multiple test sessions to be ready for a nine month season consisting of thirteen rallies, each one with its own specific characteristics.
From the polar chill of Sweden to the heat of the Jordanian desert, the World Rally Championship is a huge challenge for man and machine. The technical team, managed by Xavier Mestelan-Pinon, has reproduced the most extreme conditions during the sessions aimed at testing the reliability of the car and developing its performance.
The Citroen Total World Rally Team that represents the official colours of the brand has entered two DS3 WRCs for crews that come from its own driver training programme - which today consists of the ‘Citroen Racing Trophies’ held all over Europe. The reigning 7-time world champions Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena can’t wait to take on this new challenge. ‘Seb’ and ‘Danos’ hold just about all the records in the WRC, and they will start each round with the aim of winning and adding more laurels to their already mind-boggling results. Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, who took part in three rallies for the works team in 2010, have been given the No.2 DS3 WRC. The French pairing have already won two world championship rallies, and they must now confirm their ability to associate speed and consistency.
Total continues its long-standing partnership with Citroen as title sponsor of the works team. The DS3 WRCs will also carry the famous Red Bull colours as the company pursues an involvement that began in 2008. Three brands will be back among Citroen’s partners, Michelin who will supply tyres for the DS3 WRCs, as well as Facom and Alcon.
Three more DS3 WRCs, run by Citroen Racing Technologies, will be entered for private crews in 2011.
Petter Solberg-Chris Patterson will start all thirteen rounds, Kimi Räikkönen-Kaj Lindström will take part in ten rallies, while Peter van Merksteijn-Eddy Chevaillier will begin their season at the Portuguese Rally.
