Citroën C3 Rally2
A Citroën C3 Rally2 at the 2018 Rally Italia Sardegna
CategoryR5/Rally2
ConstructorCitroën Racing
PredecessorCitroën DS3 R5
Technical specifications[1]
Length3,996 mm
Width1,820 mm
Axle track1,618 mm
Wheelbase2,567 mm
EngineCitroën Racing 1,598 cc (97.5 cu in) turbocharged front transverse
TransmissionSADEV five-speed sequential 4-wheel drive
Weight1,230 kg
Competition history
Notable entrantsFrance Citroën World Rally Team
France CHL Sport Auto
Belgium DG Sport
Notable driversFrance Yoann Bonato
France Stéphane Lefebvre
Russia Alexey Lukyanuk
Norway Mads Østberg
Romania Simone Tempestini
Norway Ole Christian Veiby
Debut2018 Tour de Corse (WRC-2)
First win2019 Rally Argentina
RacesWinsPodiums
1316
Teams' Championships0
Constructors' Championships0
Drivers' Championships0

The Citroën C3 Rally2 (originally known as the Citroën C3 R5)[2] is a rally car built by Citroën World Rally Team. It is based upon the Citroën C3 road car and is built to R5 regulations.[3] The car made its début at the 2018 Tour de Corse where it was driven by the French crews of Stéphane Lefebvre and Gabin Moreau, and Yoann Bonato and Benjamin Boulloud.[4]

Background

In early 2017, Citroën began the development of the C3 R5. The C3 would be designed to improve on the previous offerings of Groupe PSA in the R5 discipline, the Peugeot 208 T16 and the Citroën DS3 R5, both of which proved problematic and unpopular with R5 customers.[3] The C3 had little relation to its predecessor, the DS3.

Development

Throughout summer 2017, Citroën Racing Technologies employed factory Citroën drivers Stéphane Lefebvre and Craig Breen as part of the development team for the C3, along with Yoann Bonato, who was hired for the project.[5] The first working model was completed in September of 2017, and a month later the test C3 made its public debut at the Rallye du Var, with Bonato driving a few stages as a non-competitive entrant to the rally.

Competition

The Citroën C3 R5 passed international homologation on 1 January 2018, and was now ready for competition. It made its competitive rallying debut at the Tour de Corse in April of that year, with Yoann Bonato taking second place in the WRC-2 class, and 10th overall in the rally.

Including the original test cars, a total of 26 C3 R5s had been constructed by 1 May 2019, with 22 having been sold to independent teams. In the hands of Yoann Bonato, the C3 R5 won the French Rally Championship in 2018, and continues to be used by the Citroën World Rally Team in the WRC-2 Pro class of the World Rally Championship, in the hands of Mads Østberg. Østberg would give the C3 R5 its first World Championship-level victory at the 2019 Rally Argentina. Although Citroën withdrew from the World Rally Championship in 2020, it continued as a manufacturer team in the WRC-2 and made the C3 R5 available to privateer teams in the WRC-3.

The C3 R5 was renamed the Citroën C3 Rally2 ahead of the 2021 championships.[2]

Rally results

World Rally Championship-2 Pro victories

No. Event Year Driver Co-driver
1 Sweden 2019 Rally Sweden 2019 Norway Mads Østberg Norway Torstein Eriksen
2 Argentina 2019 Rally Argentina 2019 Norway Mads Østberg Norway Torstein Eriksen
3 Spain 2019 Rally Catalunya 2019 Norway Mads Østberg Norway Torstein Eriksen

World Rally Championship-2 victories

No. Event Year Driver Co-driver
1 Monaco 2019 Monte Carlo Rally 2019 France Yoann Bonato France Benjamin Boulloud
2 Spain 2019 Rally Catalunya 2019 France Eric Camilli France Benjamin Veillas
3 Monaco 2020 Monte Carlo Rally 2020 Norway Mads Østberg Norway Torstein Eriksen
4 Sweden 2020 Rally Sweden 2020 Norway Mads Østberg Norway Torstein Eriksen
5 Estonia 2020 Rally Estonia 2020 Norway Mads Østberg Norway Torstein Eriksen
6 Italy 2020 Rally Monza 2020 Norway Mads Østberg Norway Torstein Eriksen
7 Croatia 2021 Croatia Rally 2021 Norway Mads Østberg Norway Torstein Eriksen
8 Croatia 2022 Croatia Rally 2022 France Yohan Rossel France Valentin Sarreaud
9 Portugal 2022 Rally de Portugal 2022 France Yohan Rossel France Valentin Sarreaud
10 Belgium 2022 Ypres Rally 2022 France Stéphane Lefebvre France Andy Malfoy
11 Monaco 2023 Monte Carlo Rally 2023 France Yohan Rossel France Arnaud Dunand
12 Croatia 2023 Croatia Rally 2023 France Yohan Rossel France Arnaud Dunand

World Rally Championship-3 victories

No. Event Year Driver Co-driver
1 Monaco 2020 Monte Carlo Rally 2020 France Eric Camilli France François-Xavier Buresi
2 Mexico 2020 Rally Mexico 2020 Bolivia Marco Bulacia Wilkinson Italy Giovanni Bernacchini
3 Monaco 2021 Monte Carlo Rally 2021 France Yohan Rossel France Benoît Fulcrand
4 Italy 2021 Rally Italia Sardegna 2021 France Yohan Rossel France Alexandre Coria
5 Belgium 2021 Ypres Rally 2021 France Yohan Rossel France Alexandre Coria

European Rally Championship victories

No. Event Year Driver Co-driver
1 Spain 2019 Rally Islas Canarias 2019 Spain Pepe López Spain Borja Rozada
2 Poland 2019 Rally Poland 2019 Russia Alexey Lukyanuk Russia Alexey Arnautov
3 Italy 2020 Rally di Roma Capitale 2020 Russia Alexey Lukyanuk Russia Dmitriy Eremeev
4 Portugal 2020 Rally Fafe Montelongo 2020 Russia Alexey Lukyanuk Russia Dmitriy Eremeev
5 Poland 2021 Rally Poland 2021 Russia Alexey Lukyanuk Russia Alexey Arnautov
6 Hungary 2021 Rally Hungary 2021 Norway Mads Østberg Norway Torstein Eriksen
7 Spain 2021 Rally Islas Canarias 2021 Russia Alexey Lukyanuk Russia Alexey Arnautov

WRC-2 Pro results - factory team

Year Team Driver 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos. Points
2018 France Citroën Total Rallye Team France Stephane Lefebvre MON SWE MEX FRA
Ret
ARG POR
3
ITA
8
FIN
13
DEU
8
TUR GBR
5
ESP
15
AUS 13th 33
Romania Simone Tempestini MON SWE MEX FRA ARG POR ITA
Ret
FIN
9
DEU
10
TUR GBR ESP AUS 15th* 28*
Norway Ole Christian Veiby MON SWE MEX FRA ARG POR ITA FIN DEU TUR GBR ESP
9
AUS 7th* 47*
2019 France Citroën Total WRT Norway Mads Østberg MON SWE
1
MEX FRA ARG
1
CHI
2
POR ITA FIN DEU TUR GBR CAT AUS 2nd** 68**

WRC-2 Results - third party entrants

Year Team Driver 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos. Points
2018 France CHL Sport Auto France Yoann Bonato MON SWE MEX FRA
2
ARG POR ITA FIN DEU
11
TUR GBR CAT AUS 21st 18
Romania Simone Tempestini Romania Simone Tempestini MON SWE MEX FRA ARG POR ITA FIN DEU TUR
2
GBR
7
CAT
10
AUS 15th* 28*
2019 France CHL Sport Auto France Yoann Bonato MON
1
SWE MEX FRA
12
ARG CHI POR ITA FIN DEU TUR GBR CAT AUS 5th** 25**
Belgium DG Sport Belgium Guillaume de Mevius MON
Ret
SWE MEX FRA
7
ARG CHI POR ITA FIN DEU TUR GBR CAT AUS 21st** 6**

- * scored points with different entries. - ** season still in progress.

See also

References

  1. "CITROEN C3 RALLY2".
  2. 1 2 "Citroën C3 Rally2: First pictures".
  3. 1 2 Evans, David (31 May 2017). "Citroen starting from scratch with WRC2 car". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  4. "Corsica linea Tour de Corse 2018 Entry List" (PDF). tourdecorse.com. tourdecorse.com. 15 March 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  5. "Rallye du Var : Yoann Bonato lance la C3 R5".
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