Citroen WRT

[Sulland]

Is there no chance of Citroen getting Loeb in for a couple of tests?
Did Matton cut his relationship to Citreon Sport for good?

[BigWorm]

Is there no chance of Citroen getting Loeb in for a couple of tests?
Did Matton cut his relationship to Citreon Sport for good?

Not sure if he's allowed to do that, Loeb is not under contract with Citroën anymore, he has signed with Peugeot.

[Tarmop]

Well, same PSA group...did it before (Le Mans, Pikes Peak)+ Peugeot Sport and Citroen developed the old r5`s and are developing the new one together? Also Peugeot sport doesn`t have and probably isn`t planning to have a WRC car.

[stefanvv]

Also Peugeot sport doesn`t have and probably isn`t planning to have a WRC car.

Le Mans for them since 2020.

[Rally Power]

Is there no chance of Citroen getting Loeb in for a couple of tests?
Did Matton cut his relationship to Citreon Sport for good?

Loeb Racing runs Citroen ex-official cars at WTCC. The alleged break between Loeb and Citroen is a myth; Matton had only 2 cars for the last WTCC season and he chosse the best two drivers: Lopez and Muller. Citroen din't had any other program suitable for Loeb (he quitted WRC) and once Peugeot is under the same roof they gave Loeb Dakar and WRX seats. If Citroen ask him to test the C3 he’ll, most likely, do it.

[racerx1979]

Tell you what, if Andreas isn't setting at least very competitive top 4/5 times in Poland and getting progressively faster as the rally goes on, Citroen are fucked. Matton too, seeing as I bet this was his last roll of the dice before his own head is on the chopping block. He's put faith in a driver who would rather be in anyone of the other three teams, and possibly alienated Meeke who up till now is the only driver close to taming that car and producing rally winning speed in it. Interesting times, and don't be surprised if the Arab money winds up at Msport next year, leaving an even bigger hole in the budget. Not difficult to see which team would give a better return on big investment right now

I agree with er88.

If you listened to the Autosport podcast which aired before Portugal you heard the VW head, Jost Capito and pretty much everyone else talking about Andreas as a god. They went on and on about how he would come in and be on the podium just like he did with the WRC 2 Skoda. When Lappi's name came up everyone laughed and said I would pick Andreas over Lappi any day. That may be an accurate statement, but the Andreas had issues galore out in Sardegna. If he has another lackluster performance in Poland I think it's safe to assume the Citroen is need of a serious rehab.

For Poland I think Andreas stands no chance at a podium. I don't even think he will fair well against Lappi who went from a WRC 2 car straight to a 17 car. I'm also not sure how many test miles Lappi has had in the Yaris, but we all know test miles and competition miles are a worlds apart (just look at Citroen and Meeke). My predictions are Nueville, Tanak, Latvala, Lappi and Ogier in the top 5.

[mknight]

Lappi hype is real. I mean sure he has made very good progress and some good stage times. But for a reality check, without the gearbox issues he would still be 1 min behind Latvala in Sardinia, with massive road-position advantage on friday. Also Lappi spend 7months testing Yaris before driving a rally, "straight" from WRC2 car is a bit of an overstatement.

Clearly Citroen is massive unknown given their issues, but don't overhype Lappi vs Paddon and Sordo too early. I like him a lot but better steady progress than crash and burn (aka. Paddon after Argentina last year).

[Mirek]

I am looking forward to see Lappi on asphalt. So far he has managed to finish only small percentage of asphalt events through his whole career.

[lnvs]

Also Lappi spend 7months testing Yaris before driving a rally, "straight" from WRC2 car is a bit of an overstatement..

Very much OT, but Lappi tested Yaris first time 4 months before Portugal. Sardegna was first rally where he was able to use own pretest made setup.

[racerx1979]

I am looking forward to see Lappi on asphalt. So far he has managed to finish only small percentage of asphalt events through his whole career.

Will be interesting to see Lappis tarmac pace vs Paddon