Sébastien Loeb – Daniel Elena and Kris Meeke – Paul Nagle, Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT’s two crews, once again flirted with the top of the timesheets in their C3 WRCs on today’s final leg in Corsica.
The Tour de Corse drew to a close in style today, featuring the longest stage of the rally (55.17 kilometres) to the north of Ajaccio, followed by the Power Stage, contested in the south of the island, between Pénitencier de Coti and Chiavari.
However, the day’s challenge had started before the stages for Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT’s technical team. Having recovered Kris Meeke’s C3 WRC after yesterday’s final stage, the team’s mechanics did a great job to repair the car in time for the Nothern Irishman to rejoin the action this morning under Rally 2 rules.
Kris Meeke did them proud in return. Without taking any unnecessary risks, he fought with the podium contenders to set the second fastest time on the opening stage, suggesting that there were no after effects from last night’s off in his close partnership with co-driver Paul Nagle. He then confirmed his good form in tying for third on the Power Stage, securing him two bonus points and finishing ninth overall, a position that did not reflect his speed throughout the weekend in the C3 WRC. He deserved to finish on the podium.
Sébastien Loeb was also in fine form on the final day, grabbing the second fastest time on the Power Stage just 2.2s off the stage-winning time. He therefore ended the weekend tied for second best performer, with three stage wins. A result that proves, following on from his majestic performance in Mexico, that he has lost none of his talent on tarmac!
WHAT THEY SAID
Kris Meeke
"Obviously, it’s frustrating to have dropped out of contention yesterday when a top three place was clearly within our reach, but we had to get back at it today and I think we have proven our ability to do just that. We are already looking ahead and we’ll be trying and get back on the podium and turn our speed into good results at the next few races."
Sébastien Loeb
"It’s a real shame that we went off on Friday. We would have undoubtedly been right in the mix otherwise. In any case, I’m delighted to have been on the pace again this weekend for our second one-off appearance of the season. I prefer to focus on the enjoyment we have had throughout the weekend in the C3 WRC. It is a really formidable car on tarmac and I really enjoyed driving it on these magnificent Corsican roads. It was also very nice to feel all the love and support from the French fans at our home event."