Citroen enter this week's Rally Finland looking to bounce back after Rally Sardinia was the team’s worst performance of the year to date. Sebastien Ogier’s first running car crashed, and seventh placed Esapekka Lappi was generally unhappy, but there were no unexpected lessons for the team from that event. They have since spent two day’s testing for Ogier and one day for Lappi, which seemed to show the problem of the C3 WRC’s nose-high flying characteristics. Both cars, meanwhile, have joker changes to the front suspension aimed at giving more opportunity for adjusting the set-up. "We’ll be introducing an upgrade to our front axle at this event, to enable our drivers to have a wider range of set-up options," team boss Pierre Budar said. Ogier has chassis 7 as used by him in Argentina and Chile, while Lappi has a brand new chassis, 21. Ogier has done this event 11 times and won in 2013, Lappi seven times and won in 2017. Citroen cars have won here five times. An expectation that Mads Ostberg would drive in Finland did not happen, though the team hope he will compete in Germany, GB and Spain in R5 cars.

Driver quotes:

Sebastien Ogier “This rally, contested pretty much in the back yard of one of our main competitors, is set to be a serious challenge. But I was able to recharge my batteries during the summer break and I feel fresh. As usual, I’m ready to put up a fight. With the high speeds on the stages, this is definitely a rally where you need to be completely at one with your car in order to really go for it and I have to say that I finished my two days of testing with a good feeling in the C3 WRC. The upgrade introduced at this round means we’ll have better options in terms of set-up for the rest of the season.” Esapekka Lappi “After getting our bearings at high speed in Estonia, we were able to fine-tune the basic set-up during the test day held afterwards in Finland. We had increased grip and the handling of the C3 WRC was further improved. This event is obviously something special for all of us. The main thing is to enjoy it, and if I can do that, then the result will come naturally. In any case, I feel confident and I’m determined to do my best.”

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