Six stage wins and a fourth overall for Thierry Neuville

In addition to the Drivers’ title for Sébastien Loeb and the Manufacturers’ title, Citroën can also be very pleased with the performance of its junior crews. Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul (Citroën Junior WRT) finished fourth overall, their best ever result in the WRC, notching up six stage wins in the process.

For the Rallye de France, three Citroën DS3 WRCs were entered for Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (Citroën Junior World Rally Team), Nasser Al-Attiyah/Giovanni Bernacchini (Qatar World Rally Team) and Sébastien Chardonnet/Thibault de la Haye (Collectif Equipe de France FFSA).

Thierry Neuville made the perfect start to this tarmac rally by winning the Strasbourg super special stage, thus becoming the event’s first leader. The Belgian produced a solid performance on Friday and looked like he was in contention for fourth place. Thierry ended the day in sixth, a few seconds behind his rivals.

After upping his pace on Saturday morning, the Citroën Junior WRT moved back up into fourth position, but late arrival at a time control cost him a 20-second penalty. “We managed to be on the pace when we needed to be,” he emphasized. “In hindsight, I think that the mishap only made me try even harder. I had to push to make up the lost time and that helped me to feel more confident about my driving.”

On Sunday, Thierry Neuville proved to be a class apart on roads that were perfectly suited to him. Winning five stages out of six, he moved back into fourth place, and also took two bonus points on the Power Stage. “This is my best result in the WRC. I could have been battling for a place on the podium. Above all, I’m pleased with the consistency we managed to achieve throughout the rally. We took another big step forward here, although I still feel like I’m learning about the car on tarmac. Overall, I’m more confident and things are going in the right direction. Our goal now is to finish a rally on the podium before the end of the season.”

For Nasser Al-Attiyah, this rally gave him an opportunity to add to his experience on a surface on which he had driven very little up to now. Thirteenth overall on Friday evening, he was caught out on Saturday morning on SS10 when braking in the wet. “It’s a shame, I was having my best race on tarmac,” admitted the Qatar World Rally Team driver. “We hit two spectators in the incident; fortunately, their injuries aren’t too serious. I feel really sorry for them. I won’t be competing in Sardinia, because I’ll starting preparations for the Dakar Rally. Thierry Neuville will be driving my Citroën DS3 WRC.”

Sébastien Chardonnet was driving a four-wheel drive car in the World Rally Championship for the first time. The Collectif Equipe de France FFSA (FFSA French Team group) member’s rally went according to the team’s plan, without making any significant mistakes, only making a very minor spin on Saturday. He finished the rally in 10th position and therefore saw his name added to the WRC overall standings. “Every mile covered in this car is beneficial to me. We made it to the finish; the point for tenth place is a bonus. I now know which areas in which I need to make progress, both in terms of driving and race management. It has been a very rewarding experience. My only wish now is to compete in a rally in the Citroën DS3 WRC as soon as possible.”