Peugeot Sport director Olivier Quesnel believes that his company’s 207 Super 2000 still has the beating of M-Sport’s new Ford Fiesta S2000, despite losing out on victory on the Monte Carlo Rally last week.
Quesnel was buoyed after 207 drivers Sébastien Ogier and Stéphane Sarrazin won nine of the event’s 15 special stages. Ogier was closing on Mikko Hirvonen’s leading Fiesta, which was being used in competition for the first time, when he retired with a broken alternator with two stages of the legendary rally remaining.
“I’m sad for Sébastien because he had a good rally and I would have been pleased for him to finish,” said Quesnel. “But I prefer to see the positive and that is that the Peugeot is still competitive and I think it is faster than the Ford.”
Peugeot has won the IRC Manufacturers’ title for the last three seasons. All three IRC Drivers’ champions, including 2009 winner Kris Meeke, used the 207 S2000 to win the coveted award.