Citroën C3 R5

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]

Citroën C3 Rally2
A Citroën C3 Rally2 at the 2018 Rally Italia Sardegna
CategoryR5
ConstructorCitroën World Rally Team
PredecessorCitroën DS3 R5
Technical specifications[1]
Length3,996 mm
Width1,820 mm
Wheelbase2,567 mm
Engine1.6 L (98 cu in) 4-cylinder, 16-valve turbocharged front transverse
Transmissionfive-speed sequential 4-wheel drive
Weight1,230 kg
TyresMichelin
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
Debut2018 Tour de Corse (WRC-2)
First win2019 Rally Argentina
RacesWinsPodiums
1316
Teams' Championships0
Constructors' Championships0
Drivers' Championships0

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

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

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 ITA FIN DEU TUR GBR CAT AUS 2nd** 68**

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 Mevius 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
  1. "Citroën C3 R5 Specifications & Profile". www.rallye-info.com. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  2. https://www.wrc.com/en/news/season-2020/wrc-2/citro--n-c3-rally2--first-pictures/
  3. Evans, David (31 May 2017). "Citroen starting from scratch with WRC2 car". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  4. "Corsica linea Tour de Corse 2018 Entry List" (PDF). tourdecorse.com. tourdecorse.com. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  5. https://www.lequipe.fr/Rallye/Actualites/Rallye-du-var-yoann-bonato-lance-la-c3-r5/853741
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