Presentation of the Monte-Carlo with Citroen Sport

A year after its victorious debut on the Monte-Carlo stages where the Citroën Sport team achieved a double, the Citroën C4 WRC is putting its title back on the line.

To tackle the oldest event marking the start of the 2008 season, the Citroën Sport team is fielding two C4 WRCs entrusted to four-time world champions Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena, and their Spanish teammates, Dani Sordo/Marc Marti.

« With three different sites, the course is varied », announces Sébastien Loeb. « The Thursday night specials are wide, fast, and smooth. In Ardèche, it’s more technical, narrow, and sometimes bumpy. I am thrilled to be back in the « Turini » and the roads of southeastern France. With four specials to be contested on the same tires, this final stage promises to be tricky to negotiate. »

The road conditions encountered at Monte-Carlo are one of its major difficulties. With these asphalt stages winding through massifs, competitors must constantly deal with changes in grip depending on whether the road is exposed to the sun or not. On the same timed section, they can alternately drive on dry, wet, icy, or even snow-covered portions.

The technical manager of Citroën Sport, Xavier Mestelan-Pinon, sets the scene: “We have the choice between three types of tires. On dry roads, we will use the soft compound dry tire, which will prove to be the only possible option in these conditions. In case of snow, we can choose between studded snow and non-studded snow. Like other teams, we don’t really have hindsight on the work done on our cars now equipped with tires.”

Pirelli. Regarding the developments of the C4 WRC, it receives a new engine – the « EW » – and also features aerodynamic developments on the front end. »

« The Citroën Sport team is starting this 2008 season in a measured manner » says Olivier Quesnel, the new Director of Citroën Sport. « The switch to a single tire manufacturer is the new feature at the start of this year. We have worked hard to start the race with the maximum information on the behavior of these tires, while being aware that we still have things to

Learn. The Monte-Carlo is always a difficult event to negotiate, both because of its character and the fact that it opens the season. The competition also looks formidable, and to meet the challenge ahead, I trust our technical team that has continuously worked to make the Citroën C4 WRC even more efficient. I also believe that we have two very competitive crews who will try to repeat their success from last year.

« As often at the beginning of the season » explains Sébastien Loeb, « there are many unknowns. We will have to find the right compromise between the tires we have available and the road conditions we encounter. Despite everything, our goal is to win to start the season well. » If they added a fifth victory in the event to their

Rankings, Sébastien and Daniel would become the record holders for victories in the Monte-Carlo rally.

I’m eager to start the rally, although it’s true that we’ll probably need some time to adapt to using these new tires, confirms Dani Sordo. We have prepared well for this event, but a race is still a race. Even though I enjoy driving on these beautiful stages, I know we’ll have to double our focus to try to reach our goal.

Achieve a podium.

According to a press release from Citroen Sport