Speaking on the Absolute Rally podcast service, Kris Meeke talked this week about the intense work by the Citroen team to develop their 2017 world championship C3 rally car.
“Just recently I have spent about 13 days in three weeks inside a rally car. That’s huge. I don’t think I have ever spent as much time behind the wheel.
“Last year when we did the full world championship we only spent six days testing. That was what we were limited to”.
There is curiosity about the relative performance between the 2016 spec cars (in Citroen’s case, 2015 spec) and 2017, but there is no available answer.
“We haven't done any back-to-backs. It is not necessary when you are dealing with a new design,” Meeke said.
“It doesn't matter how the car compares to the DS3, it only matters what we get into competition (and find out) how it compares to the other manufacturers.
“The 2017 cars are fascinating. For me they are a little ‘tip of the hat’ (similar in concept) to the old Group B era everyone remembers. I think it is the aerodynamic package and the bigger wings which make them look a lot more aggressive, and for sure the bigger restrictor and turbo gives a lot more power.
“We have a central diff which will change the attitude of the cars a little bit, and a wider track and wider wheels will increase track speeds a little bit. For me they are fascinating to drive, but there are no direct comparison.
“For me the comparison is not important, but when we get back into the DS3 things seem to be a little bit slower!”
- Martin Holmes
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