Mads Østberg was happy with his new asphalt driving style as he finished the 2016 Tour de Corse – Rallye de France down in ninth.
The second M-Sport driver was behind his team-mate Eric Camilli throughout the three days on the Corsican asphalt as Østberg finished +43.8 seconds behind eighth-placed Camilli.
Østberg will analyse his performance in France, where in a fortnight’s time, the Norwegian will be driving on a similar surface in Catalunya.
Østberg said “This rally has been really good practice for me. We’ve been trying a new strategy this weekend – changing our style to improve our driving on asphalt.
“Before the rally we knew that it would not be easy and that we would lose a lot of time, but it is definitely a positive to be trying something different.
“I haven’t set any blinding times, but we have to be patient. I feel that we progressed throughout the weekend and by the last stage I felt that we had some really good settings. The plan now will be to take everything we have learnt this weekend and continue the progress in Spain.”
Team Principal Malcolm Wilson OBE added “Mads has had to be very patient this weekend. He’s testing a new strategy to improve his driving style and knew that he would lose time in the beginning. He knows that it’s not going to happen overnight, but he is determined to stick to his gameplan.”