Page 1 of 1 Amidst an intense programme of development testing, the Citroën C3 R5 is set to make its first public outing at the Rallye du Var (23-26 November).
Having already won the 2017 French Rally Championship in a DS 3 R5, Yoann Bonato and Benjamin Boulloud will be leading the action at the event.
Since the start of September, the Citroën C3 R5 has been involved in a series of test sessions, both on tarmac and gravel. By now close to the product that will go on sale in the first half of 2018, the prototype driven alternatively by Stéphane Lefebvre, Craig Breen and Yoann Bonato has already racked up more than 4,000km in testing, with wholly satisfactory levels of performance and reliability.
For Citroën Racing, the next step involves unveiling its latest creation in a public setting. On 23-26 November, a Citroën C3 R5 will be running as one of the zero cars at the Rallye du Var, the final round of the French Championship. Bearing the number 0 on its doors, the C3 R5 will not be running competitively, since it will not yet have been homologated by the FIA.
The Citroën C3 R5 will be driven by Yoann Bonato, who has already wrapped up this year's French Championship title after winning four rallies (Limousin, Rouergue, Mont-Blanc and Cœur de France) in his DS 3 R5. With the pressure completely off, Yoann and his co-driver Benjamin Boulloud will be able to celebrate their recent title whilst providing the Citroën Racing engineers with precious information. This full-scale test session will enable the C3 R5 to tackle a wide variety of roads and let the mechanics assess its ease of operation.
The Rallye du Var kicks off on Friday, 24 November after lunch and is due to conclude at midday on Sunday, after 14 stages over a total competitive distance of 183km. The magnificent route takes in some of the French department's most beautiful roads, with the famous Collobrières test expected to be one of the decisive stages. Page 1 of 1