Citroen’s rally version of the DS3, the stunning R3, will take part in the last event of the 2011 season of the Rallye du Var, the last leg of the French Rally Championship. The event will get underway tomorrow, Friday, November 26th.
Citroen hopes to end the season on a high, after it already scored four victories. The Rallye du Var is 232 kilometers long and consists of several stages over a demanding and varied terrain. For Sebastian Ogier, the DS3’s driver and official driver of Citroen's WRC works team starting 2011, this is the first time he competes in the Rallye du Var. According to him, the biggest hurdle will be the weather, which should be unpredictable because of the time of the year.
“We’re going to come across all sorts of surfaces and different amounts of grip. The Col de Canadel, for example, has relatively smooth asphalt, but the Collobrieres stage is characterized by narrow and bumpy roads with plenty of grip. Meanwhile, the downhill section of Roquebrune is often dirty and slippery. We’re obviously in winter now, so rain could play a part as well,” said Sebastien Ogier, who will be the driver behind the wheel for this final showing of the DS3 R3.
Joining the talented 26-year old driver in putting the rally DS3 through its paces will be his co-driver Julien Ingrassia. The team also lined up a second car at the start of the rally, crewed by Mathieu Arzeno and Renaud Jamoul.
“We’re heading for the final straight in the car’s development now. We can draw an extremely positive conclusion so far as the program has resulted in four Group R victories as well as an overall podium on a European Championship round. The Rallye du Var will be a great occasion for the Citroen DS3 R3 to show once more that it lives up to our high expectations. Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia and Mathieu Arzeno/ Renaud Jamoul will be aiming to use all their experience on this demanding event, which features more than 130 crews on the entry list,” said Frederic Bertrand, who is in charge of Citroen Racing’s customer competition department.
Citroen hopes to end the season on a high, after it already scored four victories. The Rallye du Var is 232 kilometers long and consists of several stages over a demanding and varied terrain. For Sebastian Ogier, the DS3’s driver and official driver of Citroen's WRC works team starting 2011, this is the first time he competes in the Rallye du Var. According to him, the biggest hurdle will be the weather, which should be unpredictable because of the time of the year.
“We’re going to come across all sorts of surfaces and different amounts of grip. The Col de Canadel, for example, has relatively smooth asphalt, but the Collobrieres stage is characterized by narrow and bumpy roads with plenty of grip. Meanwhile, the downhill section of Roquebrune is often dirty and slippery. We’re obviously in winter now, so rain could play a part as well,” said Sebastien Ogier, who will be the driver behind the wheel for this final showing of the DS3 R3.
Joining the talented 26-year old driver in putting the rally DS3 through its paces will be his co-driver Julien Ingrassia. The team also lined up a second car at the start of the rally, crewed by Mathieu Arzeno and Renaud Jamoul.
“We’re heading for the final straight in the car’s development now. We can draw an extremely positive conclusion so far as the program has resulted in four Group R victories as well as an overall podium on a European Championship round. The Rallye du Var will be a great occasion for the Citroen DS3 R3 to show once more that it lives up to our high expectations. Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia and Mathieu Arzeno/ Renaud Jamoul will be aiming to use all their experience on this demanding event, which features more than 130 crews on the entry list,” said Frederic Bertrand, who is in charge of Citroen Racing’s customer competition department.