Ahead of Rally Poland, the eighth round of the World Championship, Citroën has announced a number of ‘significant’ upgrades to its C3 WRC, as well as a change to its driver line-up. Former factory VW driver Andreas Mikkelsen joins the squad in place of Chris Meeke, whilst Craig Breen and Stéphane Lefebvre have been retained for the ultra-fast roads of the Masurian region.
At the end of Rally Italia Sardegna, the team’s engineers and crews immediately headed for Poland, where they spent four days testing in the Mikolajki region. Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger, Craig Breen/Scott Martin and Stéphane Lefebvre/Gabin Moreau took turns behind the wheel as they adapted the set-up of the Citroën C3 WRC to the specific features of the Polish roads.
Following this session, Citroën Racing submitted two upgrades to the FIA: homologation of a new rear differential rail and a mechanical ‘joker’ in order to modify the torque split between the axles. After a series of results that have fallen short of its targets, Citroën Racing has renewed its determination to get back to challenging for podiums.
Due to a delay in sourcing the new components, Mikkelsen’s C3 WRC will be the only one to have the newly-homologated ‘joker’. If roads are dry, the Norwegian is also likely to benefit from a good road position on day one, giving him a chance to be well placed for the following legs.
