True, as a driver (in this case Breen) i think its better to know your given program than to find out during the season. Now Breen can go and find solutions for those rally's, lets hope he can get budget for PH car.
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I think it was planned in advance that they would do the long haul events in Mexico and Argentina with just two cars, and that the two first events would have DS3 as the third car. They had four cars in Portugal, maybe Al-Qassimi was supposed to do all his drives as a fourth car?
This announcement makes it clear for me that Citroën is on a split (doubt) about the WRC-future. And i think they will end this year (in the end) as a full-manufacturer and continu privat with PH in 2019 with the 2018 cars.
And i believe now that's the reason there was never serious a question to hold Mikkelsen in the team because there is no future. Also i believe that's why Ogier never really was in question. Why wanted Citroën so badly him if they now showing this line-up for 2018? I think it was only for the show and public but Ogier was never a serious option and Ogier knews that and played the game for his own negotiation with Ford/M-sport.
What's Citroën doing now in 2018? Only Meeke is a contender for some wins but not for the championship, it can't be. Breen is good and fast but he has still some work to do to fight for the podium and he he's missing as it seems rounds 3 & 4. Loeb, i can't see if he will be fighting with the others although he has a good start-position for Mexico and Spain, also proven strong events for Citroën. It's super to have him (Loeb) back in the WRC but i would say Breen at least needed that second car all-season, also with that gives Citroën a dign to the rivals that they still believe in all championships with the third car in the switch between Loeb, that Al Qassimi guy and a specialist like (i know it's too late but i have to mention him to get my point) Tidemann, Hanninen or other Scandinavian fast one (and Lefebvre in MC).
But now it's not good this signal Citroën is given, a nice press-release can't fixed that, Citroën isn't obviously really invest in the WRC anymore if you look at the drivers and line-up for 2018, also in particular that there isn't a third WRC-car for Lefebvre for the first round. Rally Monte-Carlo is a typical one, a lot will happen, you need at least three cars i think in the game here and he's French wich counts and the experience here. I don't get it because the R5 is comming later on this season. The third car is available, so bring it on at least in MC would you say. But not obviously.
Still happy to have Citroën cars in the startlist but i think 2018 is the last season and 2019 with PH-sport and then it's goodbye and only R5 time.
You have to be concerned that this is the last real year as a proper Manufacturer team. The question to ask is, why aren't they getting a bigger budget?
I don’t usually post these but this looks really good https://twitter.com/rallyaustralia/s...06477213667328
What I find troubling is that they don't even hand a full season to Breen. Just put him in a third car like the Sheikh. A real lack of ambition, the team isn't even allowed to redeem itself. If you wanna get anywhere in the manufacturer's you need a third car to pick up the scraps since the two other drivers need to push and any one of them is preety likely to drop out, especially when your car has a temper like the C3 does.