Poland: Stéphane Lefebvre and Gabin Moreau finished fifth overall at Rally Poland, securing the best result of the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT at the event.

The team’s three cars all made it to the end of the rally, with Andreas Mikkelsen-Anders Jæger taking ninth place and Craig Breen- Scott Martin finishing 11th. Citroën Racing came into this weekend’s Rally Poland armed with an upgraded C3 WRC and hoping to make a fresh start to its 2017 season. The team certainly had a positive rally, with its drivers consistently among the front-runners and all three cars reaching the finish.

On Sunday to finalise the positions, with rain falling once more in the region, the drivers had to deal with extremely slippery roads. Despite the tricky conditions, Lefebvre and Moreau finished off their very good weekend in style as they grabbed fifth place in the Power Stage. They also equalled their best result in the WRC, secured at the 2016 Rallye Monte-Carlo.

Having lost tenth place after overshooting a corner on SS21, Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jæger pushed hard until the end of the final stage. The pair clocked the third fastest time on the Power Stage to snatch ninth overall, less than five seconds shy of eighth place.

Meanwhile, Craig Breen and Scott Martin — once again first on the road — finished the event in eleventh position overall.

“It’s a morale-boosting result for everyone after such a difficult start to the season. I’d like to thank the team, who have never stopped supporting me, and my engineer, who helped me to put together the best rally of my career so far,” said Lefebvre adding, “Whenever there was enough grip, I felt sufficiently confident to push. I won’t be competing in the next two rallies, but I can head off on holiday in good spirits!”

FINAL PROVISIONAL STANDINGS

1. Neuville / Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) 2:40:46.1

2. Paddon / Kennard (Hyundai i20 WRC) +1:23.9

3. Ogier / Ingrassia (Ford Fiesta WRC) +2:20.8

3. Sordo / Marti (Hyundai i20 WRC) +2:47.4

5. Lefebvre / Moreau (Citroën C3 WRC) +3:11.8

6. Suninen / Markkula (Ford Fiesta WRC) +3:16.8

7. Østberg / Floene (Ford Fiesta WRC) +3:39.6

8. Evans / Barritt (Ford Fiesta WRC) +4:39.1

9. Mikkelsen / Jaeger (Citroën C3 WRC) +4:43.5

10. Hänninen / Lindstrom (Toyota Yaris WRC) +4:53.7

11. Breen / Martin (Citroën C3 WRC) +11:56.5