MONT BLANC (France) - 3-4 Sep 10

The DS3 R3 conquers France!

Posted: September 5, 2010 9:35 PM

Once more, the DS3 R3 was the star of the show when Citroën Racing’s new baby headed off to France and the specialised roads of the Rallye du Mont Blanc for only its second competitive outing. The event was a resounding success: the DS3 R3 was the quickest two-wheel drive car, claiming Group R victory, and it also finished a brilliant 11th overall.

All eyes were on the DS3 R3 at the mountain roads around Morzine in the southeast of France this weekend. The new car was the subject of intense discussion, but it had to face several more powerful rivals who were equally determined to make their mark. Nonetheless, the DS3 was able to once again underline its performance and prove its versatility on stages that were completely different to the conditions experienced on its recent debut in Ireland.

The 62nd running of the rally benefited from glorious sunshine that lit up the spectacular alpine scenery around Mont Blanc. With the crew of Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle at the wheel, the DS3 R3 laid down a marker by setting fastest time in the class on the 12-kilometre Montriond le Lac stage.
Building up its pace gradually, the DS3 R3 lay third in Group R at the end of the first morning’s loop of stages. In the afternoon the crew stepped up a gear and strung together several fastest stage times. By the end of day one, the car was leading the two-wheel drive category: a position it was to maintain all the way to the finish.

On Saturday, Meeke continued in a similar vein – setting increasingly rapid stage times to extend the gap to his rivals, while gaining places in the overall classification. The DS3 R3 set its ninth fastest stage time on the fearsome Samoëns-Joux Planestage before concluding a perfect rally that placed the crew on the top step of the Group R podium.

Frédéric Bertrand, in charge of Citroën Racing’s customer competition department, said:
“The DS3 R3 has been born well, taking two wins from its first two events. Kris drove a fantastic rally. He showed that the car was competitive and reliable, even though our rivals were once again of the highest standard on this fifth round of the French Rally Championship. We made some changes to the suspension set-up and the brakes, so we’re looking forward to see how the DS3 R3 performs on gravel, as well as on Italian asphalt at the Sanremo Rally.”

Full Results

Posted: September 5, 2010 9:34 PM

Mont Blanc 2010 - Final Results

www.patricksoft.fr

Marty McCormick / David Moynihan

Posted: September 3, 2010 8:22 AM

Marty McCormick and Co-Driver David Moynihan continue their French C2-R2 Campaign. They currently lie 2nd in the Championship, and start this rally as No 59, first of the C2-R2s

The Citroën DS3 R3 prepares for another starring role

Posted: August 30, 2010 1:56 PM

After a remarkable debut in Northern Ireland, where the Citroën DS3 R3 won Group R and clinched a superb fifth place overall on the Ulster Rally, the new car is on another mission. This time, the crew of Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle will be attempting to conquer France on the 62nd Rallye du Mont Blanc next weekend, round five of the French Championship.

With all eyes on Citroën’s new baby, the Irish champions will set off on a journey through 14 mountain special stages, totalling 206 competitive kilometres. The Rallye du Mont Blanc is characterised by a breathtaking series of climbs and descents, in the heart of skiing territory near Morzine, which takes in spectacular countryside featuring lakes, forests and majestic peaks. The rally is well known for being tough on cars, and particularly brakes, but it could not present a bigger contrast to the twisty roads of Ulster. Variable weather and a wide range of temperatures are also expected to be a key factor over the weekend.

The Citroën DS3 R3 is all set to face another new challenge thanks to this technical and demanding rally, with a tough route and extremely high level of competition. Jean-François Liénéré, in charge of Citroën Racing’s customer competition programmes, commented:
“On its second event, the DS3 R3 will have to get to grips with a very different sort of terrain to the conditions encountered in Ireland. We now step up to the next level by going head-to-head against some extremely accomplished French rivals. The 10,000 kilometres we covered in testing allowed us to tackle all sorts of different surfaces, but there’s no substitute for competition when it comes to seeing what our new car is capable of. Kris Meeke, who knows this rally after contesting it last year, will be aiming to use all of his testing and driving experience to fine-tune the car’s set-up throughout the event.”

Three questions to… Kris Meeke
This will be your second time at the Rallye du Mont Blanc. What do you think of the event?
“A few years ago I went skiing in Morzine and when I saw the roads there I really wanted to come and do the rally. Last year I finally got the chance to compete on the Rallye du Mont Blanc and that experience confirmed to me just what a fantastic event it was. The scenery is absolutely stunning and I particularly enjoyed the Joux Plane stage. This is quite a specialised rally where you’re at the mercy of the changeable weather for a lot of the time, which can really alter things.”

The DS3 R3 claimed a really good result on the fast and bumpy roads of the Ulster Rally recently. You’ll be driving it on a completely different type of event: how are you going to approach this rally?
“The tests that I carried out with the DS3 R3 were actually on roads that were quite similar to the sort of stages that we will find around Morzine. We’re going to start off with a good base set-up that we just plan to fine-tune as the event goes on. I know that the car behaves extremely well on this sort of surface and I’m simply planning to pick up my pace gradually over the course of the rally. The car has already proved to be quick and competitive. We’re here to underline that performance and we’re going to be doing our very best to achieve this objective.”

You took part in the development programme of the DS3 R3: what are the biggest strengths of the car?
“The DS3 R3 is a real technology showcase. It’s a new generation of car that incorporates all sorts of interesting technical innovations that have never been seen before on a car destined for customer competition. I’m thinking in particular of the semi-automatic sequential control gearbox and the turbo engine, which offers up incredible torque even though the car is always very easy and enjoyable to drive. Now we just need to see how the Citroën DS3 R3 goes compared to its rivals on this new terrain. I’m sure it’s going to be pretty astonishing. ”

Kris Meeke / Paul Nagle to Drive Citroen DS3 R3

Posted: August 30, 2010 11:28 AM

Kris Meeke / Paul Nagle will be taking part in the Mont Blanc Rally in France this weekend, driving the new DS3 R3.
This is the 2nd rally for the new R3 class car, following Byran Bouffier's debut in the Ulster Rally
Meeke Nagle competed in the rally last year in a 207 S2000 Meeke is seeded at 18, Pieter Tsjoen heads the entry list in a Focus WRC

Full Details are available on the event website:

Mont Blanc

Event Website

Posted: August 30, 2010 11:25 AM

Mont Blanc