Ostberg makes friends with DS3

Rally Sweden podium finisher Mads Ostberg says that despite becoming ‘good mates’ with his Citroen DS3 there is more work to do before he feels completely happy with the car.

The Norwegian finished third in Sweden, claimed maximum points in the Power Stage and lies third in the WRC standings following his switch to the French team after a lacklustre 2013 with M-Sport.

“I know a lot more about the car and understand a lot more but there is still some work to do and I’m not totally comfortable,” said Ostberg. “I was not able to find the perfect set-up in three days so we still have some work to do on the gravel. To be honest I’m very happy with the car now. We are becoming good mates.”

But a fourth Swedish podium came after a difficult start to his first loose surface rally in the DS3. His confidence was low during Thursday’s opening stages in Norway but changes to the set-up and his driving style brought a rapid improvement.

“I was mainly a little bit surprised in the beginning because I felt quite early in the first stage the feeling was not right and I understood quickly that my dream of fighting for the win would be difficult straight away,” he said.

“We tried some new things with the car and also during the weekend I was adapting my driving style. To be honest I totally changed my driving style in three days. It’s been a good learning curve for me. Three days in the car and I started to get really confident with the car,” added Ostberg.