Citroen’s C3 R5 is set to make its first public outing at the Rallye du Var later this month (23-26 November). Having already won the 2017 French Rally Championship in a DS 3 R5, Yoann Bonato and Benjamin Boulloud will be leading the action at the event.
Since the start of September, the Citroen C3 R5 has been involved in a series of test sessions, both on tarmac and gravel. Now close to the product that will go on sale in the first half of 2018, the prototype has already racked up over 4,000km in testing, evaluating the levels of performance and reliability.
During this year’s Rallye du Var, the final round of the French Championship, a Citroen C3 R5 will be running as one of the zero cars. The Rallye du Var kicks off on Friday, 24 November after lunch and is due to conclude at midday on the Sunday, after 14 stages over a total competitive distance of 183km.
“Thanks to the technical choices made long before the first road tests, we have completed a series of test sessions without any major technical hitches and managed to achieve the performance potential we were aiming for,” explained Pierre Budar, development director, customer racing vehicles. “Whilst also assessing the robustness of the components, we have been analysing various set-up configurations to try and get to grips with the sensitivity of the car and identify the most effective solutions. A lot of work done on the engine on the test bench has enabled us to assess a wide range of configurations and the specifications are now finalised for homologation. Another important milestone will be reached with our participation in the Rallye du Var, where we can test the C3 R5 in conditions close to those in which it will be ultimately used.”
