Citroën C3 R5/Rally2
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]
A Citroën C3 Rally2 at the 2018 Rally Italia Sardegna | |||||||
| Category | R5/Rally2 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Citroën Racing | ||||||
| Predecessor | Citroën DS3 R5 | ||||||
| Technical specifications[1] | |||||||
| Length | 3,996 mm | ||||||
| Width | 1,820 mm | ||||||
| Axle track | 1,618 mm | ||||||
| Wheelbase | 2,567 mm | ||||||
| Engine | Citroën Racing 1,598 cc (97.5 cu in) turbocharged front transverse | ||||||
| Transmission | SADEV five-speed sequential 4-wheel drive | ||||||
| Weight | 1,230 kg | ||||||
| Competition history | |||||||
| Notable entrants | Citroën World Rally Team CHL Sport Auto DG Sport | ||||||
| Notable drivers | Yoann Bonato Stéphane Lefebvre Alexey Lukyanuk Mads Østberg Simone Tempestini Ole Christian Veiby | ||||||
| Debut | 2018 Tour de Corse (WRC-2) | ||||||
| First win | 2019 Rally Argentina | ||||||
| |||||||
| Teams' Championships | 0 | ||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||
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 | 2019 Rally Sweden | 2019 | Mads Østberg | Torstein Eriksen |
| 2 | 2019 Rally Argentina | 2019 | Mads Østberg | Torstein Eriksen |
| 3 | 2019 Rally Catalunya | 2019 | Mads Østberg | Torstein Eriksen |
World Rally Championship-2 victories
| No. | Event | Year | Driver | Co-driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2019 Monte Carlo Rally | 2019 | Yoann Bonato | Benjamin Boulloud |
| 2 | 2019 Rally Catalunya | 2019 | Eric Camilli | Benjamin Veillas |
| 3 | 2020 Monte Carlo Rally | 2020 | Mads Østberg | Torstein Eriksen |
| 4 | 2020 Rally Sweden | 2020 | Mads Østberg | Torstein Eriksen |
| 5 | 2020 Rally Estonia | 2020 | Mads Østberg | Torstein Eriksen |
| 6 | 2020 Rally Monza | 2020 | Mads Østberg | Torstein Eriksen |
| 7 | 2021 Croatia Rally | 2021 | Mads Østberg | Torstein Eriksen |
| 8 | 2022 Croatia Rally | 2022 | Yohan Rossel | Valentin Sarreaud |
| 9 | 2022 Rally de Portugal | 2022 | Yohan Rossel | Valentin Sarreaud |
| 10 | 2022 Ypres Rally | 2022 | Stéphane Lefebvre | Andy Malfoy |
| 11 | 2023 Monte Carlo Rally | 2023 | Yohan Rossel | Arnaud Dunand |
| 12 | 2023 Croatia Rally | 2023 | Yohan Rossel | Arnaud Dunand |
| 13 | 2024 Monte Carlo Rally | 2024 | Yohan Rossel | Arnaud Dunand |
| 14 | 2024 Croatia Rally | 2024 | Nikolay Gryazin | Konstantin Aleksandrov |
World Rally Championship-3 victories
| No. | Event | Year | Driver | Co-driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2020 Monte Carlo Rally | 2020 | Eric Camilli | François-Xavier Buresi |
| 2 | 2020 Rally Mexico | 2020 | Marco Bulacia Wilkinson | Giovanni Bernacchini |
| 3 | 2021 Monte Carlo Rally | 2021 | Yohan Rossel | Benoît Fulcrand |
| 4 | 2021 Rally Italia Sardegna | 2021 | Yohan Rossel | Alexandre Coria |
| 5 | 2021 Ypres Rally | 2021 | Yohan Rossel | Alexandre Coria |
European Rally Championship victories
| No. | Event | Year | Driver | Co-driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2019 Rally Islas Canarias | 2019 | Pepe López | Borja Rozada |
| 2 | 2019 Rally Poland | 2019 | Alexey Lukyanuk | Alexey Arnautov |
| 3 | 2020 Rally di Roma Capitale | 2020 | Alexey Lukyanuk | Dmitriy Eremeev |
| 4 | 2020 Rally Fafe Montelongo | 2020 | Alexey Lukyanuk | Dmitriy Eremeev |
| 5 | 2021 Rally Poland | 2021 | Alexey Lukyanuk | Alexey Arnautov |
| 6 | 2021 Rally Hungary | 2021 | Mads Østberg | Torstein Eriksen |
| 7 | 2021 Rally Islas Canarias | 2021 | Alexey Lukyanuk | Alexey Arnautov |
| 8 | 2022 Rally de Catalunya | 2022 | Yoann Bonato | Benjamin Boulloud |
| 9 | 2023 Rally Islas Canarias | 2023 | Yoann Bonato | Benjamin Boulloud |
| 10 | 2023 Rally di Roma Capitale | 2023 | Andrea Crugnola | Pietro Ometto |
| 11 | 2023 Rally Hungary | 2023 | Mads Østberg | Torstein Eriksen |
| 12 | 2024 Rally Islas Canarias | 2024 | Yoann Bonato | Benjamin Boulloud |
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 | Citroën Total Rallye Team | Stephane Lefebvre | MON | SWE | MEX | FRA Ret |
ARG | POR 3 |
ITA 8 |
FIN 13 |
DEU 8 |
TUR | GBR 5 |
ESP 15 |
AUS | 13th | 33 | |
| Simone Tempestini | MON | SWE | MEX | FRA | ARG | POR | ITA Ret |
FIN 9 |
DEU 10 |
TUR | GBR | ESP | AUS | 15th* | 28* | |||
| Ole Christian Veiby | MON | SWE | MEX | FRA | ARG | POR | ITA | FIN | DEU | TUR | GBR | ESP 9 |
AUS | 7th* | 47* | |||
| 2019 | Citroën Total WRT | Mads Østberg | MON | SWE 1 |
MEX | FRA | ARG 1 |
CHI 2 |
POR 3 |
ITA 3 |
FIN | DEU 4 |
TUR | GBR 5 |
CAT 1 |
AUS | 2nd | 145 |
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 | CHL Sport Auto | Yoann Bonato | MON | SWE | MEX | FRA 2 |
ARG | POR | ITA | FIN | DEU 11 |
TUR | GBR | CAT | AUS | 21st | 18 | |
| Simone Tempestini | Simone Tempestini | MON | SWE | MEX | FRA | ARG | POR | ITA | FIN | DEU | TUR 2 |
GBR 7 |
CAT 10 |
AUS | 15th* | 28* | ||
| 2019 | CHL Sport Auto | Yoann Bonato | MON 1 |
SWE | MEX | FRA 12 |
ARG | CHI | POR | ITA | FIN | DEU | TUR | GBR | CAT | AUS | 5th | 25 |
| DG Sport | Guillaume De Mévius | 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
- "CITROEN C3 RALLY2".
- "Citroën C3 Rally2: First pictures".
- Evans, David (31 May 2017). "Citroen starting from scratch with WRC2 car". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
- "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.
- "Rallye du Var : Yoann Bonato lance la C3 R5".