Abu Dhabi: Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT’s ace driver Kris Meeke can’t wait to put their new Citroen C3 WRC car to test at the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) that gets under way at the Rallye Monte-Carlo on January 19.
“We have covered a lot of kilometres in that and you can continue to test and always try to improve. But, at some point you have to get into the competition to see where we are. I feel ready for Monte Carlo and I’m all set and raring to go,” said Meeke after Citroen unveiled their new car at the capital on Wednesday.
With the new regulations coming in, Citroen has beefed up their car with a more aggressive aero package. The four-cylinder 1.6-litre direct injection turbo engine is based on the unit from Citroen’s C-Elysee WTCC car. The front bumper has a splitter and winglets to generate downforce and reduce understeer. What’s eye catching is the rear end which has a huge two-element rear wing that consists of a lower shovel and a complex upper level.
“The regulations have changed a lot and the biggest thing is the aerodynamics. Under the bonnet the engine is a lot more powerful. The centre deferential is wider, so a lot of things have changed and for sure the cars are a lot faster. It is a new challenge and I like the car as it is more aggressive,” said the Irish driver adding that, the major challenge will be to stay ‘wide awake’ to get confident in these cars.
In the 2017 season, the Citroen Total Abu Dhabi team will enter two to four C3 WRCs for its crew consisting of Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle, Stephane Lefebvre/Gabin Moreau, Craig Breen/Scott Martin, and Shaikh Khalid Al Qassimi/Chris Patterson.
Meeke was of the view that his team had the perfect package to come out tops and hailed the decision from his team to take part in few rallys last season.
“It has been a long year and hard work from Citroen. The approach they took by doing only a few rallys and concentrating on the new car was a wise decision. I think they have done a fantastic job and the entire team is in a strong position. To develop a car for the World Rally Championship is a huge undertaking and we have a top class car out there,” said Meeke adding that, for the first time in his career, he finds himself in a good position and at the right place at the very same time.
“If you want to be in a factory team then the golden ticket is with Citroen and I’m glad I’m there,” said Meeke, who won races in Portugal and Finland last season.
With the Volkswagen not competing this time round, C3 WRC’s main challenge is expected to come from Hyundai, M-Sport and Toyota. Sebastien Loeb was the last Citroen driver to win the WRC title in 2012. Meeke was upbeat about ending the four-year title drought for his team this time round.
“The championship has never been so open with Volkwagan’s departure. But now every team has a rally winner and with new regulation we don’t know the levels.
“Every team will be pushing like hell but I believe with Citroen’s experience, hopefully I can do the job and fight at the front. There are a lot of unknowns but our ultimate target is to win the championship.”
