It’s hard to describe Citroen’s return to the World Rally Championship after a year’s sabbatical as anything other than disappointing. Expectations were high when they hit the wintery stages of Monte-Carlo in 2017. A solid fifth place for Craig Breen and ninth for Stephane Lefebvre, if not setting the world on fire, were respectable enough, but an accident on the road section meant a retirement for its star driver Kris Meeke. This alone would mean nothing, if next time out wasn’t also a disappointment.
In Mexico things began to look up. A win for Meeke reassured the team that the car had the potential to win, although his car park wanderings in the final stage kept them on the edge of their seats until the very end. The speed was there, but something very obviously was missing.
Meeke took the brunt of the highs and the lows in 2017. It is all too easy to remember Meeke’s struggles, which culminated in him sitting out Rally Poland. His lack of confidence in the car started him on a downward spiral of poor results even before the doubtless confidence knock of being asked to miss an event. Andreas Mikkelsen achieved an impressive second place as Meeke’s replacement in the Citroen and managed to finish in the points in all three events he contested with the team. But after an opportunity to reflect Meeke was able to come back to win again in the second half of the season, and rounded out last year with a couple of points finishes. It might not have been what he hoped for, but it’s enough to stave off complete despair.
Breen, in contrast to his team-mate, had a strikingly consistent season. In his first full year in the series, he has been able to deliver a remarkable number of fifth places and has had only one non-finish. With more experience going into 2018 he should have no problem getting the Citroen C3 onto the podium.
Going forward into a new season, can Citroen turn its fortunes around? Its stuck with Meeke and Breen for another year and the added experience of the difficult car can only be a good thing. With Yves Matton off to the FIA as rally director, the team will have a new team director for 2018 in the form of Pierre Budar. A fresh start could be just what they need to shake off a year that Citroen would rather forget.
In place of Stephane Lefebvre, who will be battling it out in WRC2 for 2018, Citroen is bringing back an old face to compete in a number of events. Sebastien Loeb has a staggering 78 wins for the team in the WRC and eight championship titles. If there was ever a name to get everyone talking about Citroen, for all the right reasons, this is it. What he can achieve is still to be seen. On his last comeback, in Monte-Carlo in 2015, he battled with Ogier for the lead before hitting a wall.
Mads Ostberg has recently been announced as having a Citroen factory drive in Sweden, one of his favourite rallies and an opportunity for extra points for the team. Khalid Al Qassimi will also remain with the team in 2018, competing in a number of events in the third car.
As lacklustre as the 2017 campaign was, the good news is that this year can only really get better. Citroen is aiming to have better consistency and a calmer outlook for 2018 and by eliminating basic mistakes big strides can be made. And it’s not as if last season should be completely written off. Meeke still came away with two wins, even if the rest of his season left much to be desired. Last in the manufacturers’ championship was not what the team that has won it eight times before would have hoped for.
There’s no reason why Citroen can’t do better this year. 2017 might not have been the return to glory that it wanted or expected but if they have learnt from its mistakes it can only make the team stronger.
