Citroën enter the 2016 season with the pressure off, while there is no full-factory commitment to the new season of the FIA World Rally Championship, there will be the Abu Dhabi Total WRT running various drivers throughout the year as the French manufacturer focuses on developing its 2017 world beater.
Confirmed for the opening rally of the season in Monte-Carlo is Kris Meeke and young starlet Stéphane Lefebvre, who at the age of 23 has already made an impact on the world rally scene.
In 2014 he won the WRC3 and Junior World Rally Championship before taking part in a selection of rallies in the 2015 season, including his first WRC points finish at the 2015 Rallye Deutschland (also his first time driving a WRC-spec car).
“Monte-Carlo is a rally where I have done fairly well in the past, since I won my class in 2011 and then secured the WRC2 category win last year,” explains Lefebvre. “This year, I would dearly love to get a good result and prove that I can be counted on.
Gabin Moreau starts his second Rallye Monte-Carlo as he joins Lefebvre as co-driver.
“I like the course here, but I will be giving it all the respect such a legendary rally deserves. The Monte-Carlo is not a sprint like some of the other World Championship rallies. We saw last year how quickly gaps can be established and then disappear! You must never get too carried away and just build your strategy over the course of the stages. I’ll be counting on the experience of the team’s members to help me with that. I’ll also be getting advice from my gravel crew, Alexandre Bengué.
While there is an unknown element to the upcoming rally, Lefebvre knows what he will be aiming for.
“I don’t have any specific goal as regards the result, because we don’t know to what extent the works teams have improved during the off-season. I would be pleased if I manage to keep improving something like I did at the end of last year on tarmac, whilst trying to stay in touch with Kris. I have the good fortune to have a team-mate who is very quick on these roads, so he’ll be my marker!”
