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06 Jun 2021

OSTBERG/ERIKSEN CREW OVERCOME CHAOTIC RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA

A turbulent Rally Italia Sardegna drives Mads Ostberg and Torstein ERIKSEN to give an extraordinary performance and over come every obstacle thrown their way.

OSTBERG/ERIKSEN CREW OVERCOME CHAOTIC RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA
  • A promising start for the Norwegian crew turned sideways when they handed in their helmets for mechanic tools throughout Saturday. Although the technical issues to the rear of the car provoked on stage repairs and lost time, Ostberg and Eriksen were quick to react and use their phenomenal mechanic skills to repair their C3 Rally2. Their perseverance portrayed a new dimension of rally expertise. The TRT team worked incessantly to provide the crew a car that allowed them to come back to win 5 stages and finish 2nd in the WRC2 & RC2 categories and an impressive 6th overall.
  • In the WRC3 category, it is a second victory and third podium on the world stage for Yohan Rossel and Alexandre Coria of Sainteloc Racing. The French crew, 7th in the general standings, showed a very high level of consistency and performance throughout the entirety of the rally; an indication to the cohesion of this new driver/co-driver collaboration.
  • Jan Solans & Rodrigo San Juan gave a climactic performance on their second WRC appearance showing great potential at the wheel of C3 Rally2 operated by Sports & You. The Spanish duo counted their first WRC3 stage win and held their momentum finishing 3rd with 4 stage wins in total and 9th overall.
  • Despite opening the rally with gear box issues, leaving Nicolas Ciamin & Yannick Roche with an early handicap, mended by DG Sport at midday service, the crew was left with little confidence to find their rhythm, finishing 6th of WRC3. A strong rally by Jonathan Rieu & Jules Escarthefigues of PH Sport who suffered several punctures managed to climb eleven spots in the RC2 standings finishing P16.
  • The defensive Italian roads claimed Sean Johnston & Alex Kihurani and Alberto Heller & Marti Marc victim to Rally Italia Sardegna forcing both crews to retire.

WHAT THEY SAID…

Didier Clément, Head of Customer Racing, Citroën Racing

« We are extremely proud of the #C3Rally2Family after such a demanding rally. The hard work and incredible performance by Mads & Torstein cannot go unnoticed. This is a driver that has immense talent and incomparable tenacity and mechanic skill, all things to make a true champion. The driving from Yohan & Alex was of very high performance and they now hold a strong lead in the WRC3 championship standings following this unflawed victory. It is promising to see Jan Solans & Rodrigo San Juan finish in 3rd place with such little WRC experience, it goes to show that he has a lot of talent and potential still to come.”

Mads Østberg, C3 Rally2 driver in the WRC2

“We have to be happy with coming away with a second place after this weekend. This rally was extremely rough. We fought really hard to even get to the end and luckily we were able to repair the different issues we ran into. We are unlucky not to win the rally but considering the time penalty of one minute, two stages with rear issues and a puncture is not so bad. It has been a hard weekend and I am exhausted. Estonia next is not as rough so I hope we can build on the good pace and speed that we have and have a clean rally.”

Yohan Rossel, C3 Rally2 driver in the WRC3

“This Rally Italia Sardegna was a great weekend for me. We rectified the issues that we may have encountered in Portugal where we were lacking some speed. We did a lot of work with the team and with Alex (co-driver). To get 28pts here is really a great feeling. I want to thank my team, Citroën Racing and everyone who supports me. I am very excited to be able to offer them all this victory because there is a lot of sacrifice that goes into it all and I am happy to be able to repay them this way.”

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media.citroenracing.com

HIGHLIGHTS:

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CONTACTS:

Sonya D’Artois / +33 6 27 81 68 28

sonya.dartois@external.stellantis.com

Cécile Estenave / +33 6 72 82 74 08

cecile.estenave@stellantis.com

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