After a remarkable debut in Northern Ireland, where the Citroën DS3 R3 won Group R and clinched a superb fifth place overall on the Ulster Rally, the new car is on
another mission. This time, the crew of Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle will be attempting to conquer France on the 62nd Rallye du Mont Blanc next weekend,
round five of the French Championship.
With all eyes on Citroën’s new baby, the Irish champions will set off on a journey through 14 mountain special stages, totalling 206 competitive kilometres. The Rallye du Mont Blanc is characterised by a breathtaking series of climbs and descents, in the heart of skiing territory near Morzine, which takes in spectacular countryside featuring lakes, forests and majestic peaks. The rally is well known for being tough on cars, and particularly brakes, but it could not present a bigger contrast to the twisty roads of Ulster. Variable weather and a wide range of temperatures are also expected to be a key factor over the weekend.
The Citroën DS3 R3 is all set to face another new challenge thanks to this technical and demanding rally, with a tough route and extremely high level of competition.
Jean-François Liénéré, in charge of Citroën Racing’s customer competition programmes, commented: “On its second event, the DS3 R3 will have to get to grips with a very different sort of terrain to the conditions encountered in Ireland. We now step up to the next level by going head-to-head against some extremely accomplished French rivals. The 10,000 kilometres we covered in testing allowed us to tackle all sorts of different surfaces, but there’s no substitute for competition when it comes to seeing what our new car is capable of. Kris Meeke, who knows this rally after contesting it last year, will be aiming to use all of his testing and driving experience to fine-tune the car’s set-up throughout the event.”
– Credit: Citroen Racing.