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Citroën aims high in the Americas!

The FIA World Rally Championship is set to jet across the Atlantic to Mexico, fleeing the cool European winter. At this, the third round of the season, the new World Rally Cars will compete on gravel for the first time. In the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT camp, Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle and Stéphane Lefebvre/Gabin Moreau will be driving the Citroën C3 WRCs.

RALLY MEXICO: GRAVEL GALORE BUT THE AIR IS RARE...
After first appearing on the World Championship calendar in 2004, Rally Mexico is now one of the season's most popular rallies. The people from the León region quickly turned from curious onlookers into big fans of the WRC and the crews are now welcomed like heroes! This year, the excitement will be even greater than before, since this will be the first competitive outing of the World Rally Cars on gravel.

The major standout feature of the Mexican event, however, has little to do with the road surface. Varying between 1,800 and 2,700 metres above sea level, it is the altitude that makes life difficult for the engineers. The lack of oxygen has an adverse effect on both engine power and the cooling systems of the various components.

The 2017 rally also see the introduction of a number of new features. For example, the shakedown has been brought forward to Wednesday afternoon in order to accommodate an exceptional event. Indeed, the rally will get underway on Thursday evening with a super special stage held on the Plaza de la Constitución, commonly known as Zócalo square, right in the centre of Mexico City! There will be no shortage of super special stages during the rest of the itinerary since the WRCs will also delight crowds in the streets of Guanajuato and León. However, the winner is likely to come from whoever performs in the mountain stages. The El Chocolate, Las Minas, El Brinco and Derramadero tests will, as ever, be decisive in determining the outcome of the rally!

THE CHALLENGES: GO HIGHER STILL
After two winter rounds with specific conditions, the WRC returns to a more familiar road surface. Although the high altitude significantly reduces the performances of the cars, the gravel stages will help to clarify the established pecking order among the cars and crews.

Once again, two Citroën C3 WRCs will be competing. Like in Monte-Carlo, Kris Meeke will team up with Stéphane Lefebvre in Mexico. At the Tour de Corse, a third car will be entered for Craig Breen. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT will then go to Argentina with two cars for Meeke and Breen. After that and for the rest of the season, there will be three C3s nominated to score points at each round. In Mexico, one of the challenges will therefore to ensure both cars secure a good result.

To prepare for this round, the team held a test session in Spain. Kris Meeke and Stéphane Lefebvre concentrated on the suspension and active central differential settings, supplementing the development work done in 2016.