Torrential rain on the New South Wales Central Coast has blunted Eli Evans’ first taste of the Citroen DS3 he will campaign in this year’s East Coast Bullbars Australian Rally Championship.
In a specially held test session organised by Team Citroen Australia, Team Principal Ron Cremen designed the test to allow Evans to familiarize himself with the DS3 ahead of the Championship season, but wet weather and a largely clay based surface conspired to hamper their efforts.
Wet conditions hampered Evans' Citroen test. (Photo: Eli Evans / Facebook)“Very tough conditions to learn a new car in,” confirmed Eli after the test that took place last weekend. “It was so wet, so very hard to properly gauge and get a feel for the car. But what I was able to learn felt really good, it’s an excellent car.”
Held on a three kilometre-looping track north of the Central Coast, close to Newcastle, Evans and co-driver Glen Weston familiarized themselves with the left-hand drive Citroen with assistance from Tony Sullens.
“It’s a very different car to anything I’ve driven previously, very complex, so to have Tony on hand to show me what he’s learnt from a year competing in the car was a massive help. I’m hugely grateful to him for helping speed up my learning process.”
“For me it was the first time I’d driven a rally car with paddle shift, and also the first time in a front-wheel drive with a turbo. So very different to the cars I’ve driven over the past couple of years.”
“Unfortunately the weather was not on our side, in the end I probably did fifteen or twenty laps with most of it being in first gear. Driving in wet weather is hard enough in a car you’re not familiar with, but in clay conditions that made it virtually impossible,” explained Eli.
“No rally car feels good on wet clay, so I’m excited to get another chance to test the car when we arrive in Western Australia for the first Round of the Championship.”
Team Citroen Australia plan to conduct a further full day test for Evans and Weston in the week prior to the Quit Forest Rally, in conditions they will hope will be more representative of the dry and dusty roads normally experienced in the West.
“No test is a waste. Sure it was a shame to have such bad conditions for my first time in the car, but I still learnt and awful lot. And in one way I learnt what the Citroen is like to drive in extreme clay conditions, and you know there are times in WA where we do encounter roads like that if it’s wet.”
“My aim now is to have a good test in WA, and get to the end of that first weekend feeling like I’m one with the car,” Eli concluded.
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