The first of an uninterrupted series of four gravel events, Rally Argentina is almost certain to be the championship’s most demanding weekend for the cars. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT will be entering three crews in South America, with Kris Meeke / Paul Nagle, Craig Breen / Scott Martin and Khalid Al Qassimi / Chris Patterson, and will also be running a recently homologated upgrade to the C3 WRC’s rear axle.
A JUBILANT, FESTIVE ATMOSPHERE
The traditional hub of Rally Argentina, the Province of Cordoba has an almost religious reverence for rallying. Every year, excited fans flock to the event, thrilled by the WRCs flying along the region’s tough gravel roads at high speeds. Having won ten of the last thirteen rallies held here, Citroën obviously holds a special place in the hearts of the local aficionados, who line the roads in huge numbers throughout the weekend.
Kris Meeke, third in 2014 before then claiming his maiden WRC victory at the event in 2015, has also quickly become a popular figure among the Argentinian fans. After finishing third in Mexico in early March at the only gravel round contested so far this season, the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT’s lead driver is determined to put in a strong performance in Argentina as he aims to get among the frontrunners at an event that he really enjoys.
The same might be said for Craig Breen on his return to competitive action, buoyed by his second place finish in Sweden and his promising debut here in 2017. He will also benefit from a favourable position in the running order on day one, which may help him get back into the swing of things. Citroën’s two leading drivers will be joined in South America by Khalid Al Qassimi, sixth in Argentina in 2015 on his only appearance at the event to date, who will be making his first outing of the season in the third C3 WRC.
C3 WRC UPGRADED AGAIN
After being highly effective in Mexico – winning more stages than any other WRC, with the two crews competing at the event topping the timesheets eight times – the C3 WRC’s balance has been improved again. The team has used one of its chassis tokens, aimed at introducing an upgrade to the car’s rear axle, in order to widen its operating window a little further. This illustrates how the engineers at the team’s Satory headquarters are constantly striving for performance gains. It has to be said that the rally is a huge challenge. Despite the minimal changes for this year – mainly found on Sunday’s leg, where the stages will be contested in the opposite direction to previous years – the route, which features some very fast stages, and others that are extremely twisty and gravel roads that are often very rough, is nonetheless a genuine test.
2018 RALLY ARGENTINA KEY FIGURES
18 timed stages covering a total of 358.25km
2kph is the difference in average speed between the fastest and the slowest stage contested at the event in 2017
10 overall wins secured by Citroën at Rally Argentina: Carlos Sainz in 2004 (Xsara WRC), Sébastien Loeb in 2005, 2006 (Xsara WRC), 2007, 2008, 2009 (C4 WRC), 2011, 2012 and 2013 (DS3 WRC), and Kris Meeke in 2015 (DS3 WRC).
This is the very first time that the famous El Condor speed test, held on Sunday at more than 2,000 metres above sea level and serving as the Power Stage, will be contested uphill
Pierre Budar, Citroën Racing Team Principal: “The aim in Argentina will be to try and get back on the podium. This is an event where we are very familiar with the specific features. We are also perfectly aware that this rally can sometimes be unpredictable, largely due to the fairly rough nature of the gravel roads. The team works tirelessly every day to improve and refine our C3 WRC a little bit more. The new rear axle geometry introduced for this rally aims to provide even more consistent handling, regardless of changes in the road surface and therefore generate greater confidence for the drivers. In any case, although Craig lacks experience of this iconic rally, he has already shown in Sweden that he’s capable of springing a surprise, whilst Kris is a former winner here, so I think we are well placed to meet our targets.”