Citroën DS3 R3 – 52nd Rally Sanremo – 24/25 September
As expected, the 52nd Rally Sanremo was fast and furious. The 114 competing crews didbattle on tricky and narrow roads under changeable weather conditions. The two DS3 R3sthat were entered proved to be competitive on territory that was completely different fromthe previous rallies they had known.
The competitors took the start last Friday to embark on 220 competitive kilometres of action inthe heart of the Italian province of Liguria. From the very opening stages, the two DS3 R3s,driven by Elwis Chentre and the young Matthieu Arzeno, were among the frontrunners – settingcompetitive times that allowed the Italian driver to slot into second place in class. “It’s the firsttime that I’m driving the Citroën DS3 R3 in competitive conditions and I already feel verycomfortable,” he said. “It’s a very efficient car and very easy to drive.”
The weather, which had been extremely menacing up to the end of the first loop of stages, thenstepped in to complicate things so competitors embarked on the second loop in wet conditions.Mathieu Arzeno’s DS3 R3 shone in the rain. He moved up to second place in the overall two-wheel drive category, while the second Citroën rounded off the top five.
Things changed when Mathieu Arzeno picked up a 50-second penalty for checking out of servicelate, due to accidentally setting off the in-car fire extinguisher. He was more motivated than everto make up the time lost, and his DS3 R3 set the fourth-fastest time in class on the fearsome 44-kilometre ‘Ronde’ night stage, where reliability and endurance were the keys to success.
The second day on Saturday, consisting of two 30-kilometre loops of stages, took place in brightsunshine. Mathieu Arzeno’s DS R3 set another fastest stage time, allowing the French crew tomove back up the leaderboard and regain fourth place in the two-wheel drive category before anelectrical problem on a road section forced their retirement.
The Citroën DS3 R3 driven by the Italian Elwis Chentre no longer had a chance of victory, havinglost nine minutes on the opening day. Nonetheless, the car staged an excellent fightback andmade the finish after climbing back up the overall classification.
Jean-François Liénéré, in charge of Citroën Racing’s customer competition programme,commented: “After two Group R victories in Ireland and France, we can draw twoconclusions from our trip to Italy. First of all, the Citroën DS3 R3 has proved to becompetitive on yet another type of road. Secondly, we still need to continue our work torefine the car. »
The Citroën DS3 R3’s next outing will be on the Rallye des Cardabelles in France from 09-10October. There, Citroën’s new challenger will face gravel for the first time in the hands of MarcAmourette.
