2020 Rally Monte-Carlo recap

The Rally Monte-Carlo, first round in the World Rally Championship (WRC) season, is a myth in rally history. The 88th edition has been up to the legend : incertain weather, tricky road conditions with frequent and highly unpredictable grip changes.

In such environment, confidence in notes and the car is key for a good performance. Citroën C3 R5 has been up to the task. The car has proven to be fast - with more than 50% of scratchs in the RC2 category - and reliable. This fantastic result, which surely calls for others, rewards the continuous developpement of the car by Citroën Racing.

Quickly ahead with a comfortable gap, Eric Camilli used his experience in WRC to give C3 R5 a first victory in WRC in 2020 season. The local pilot from Sainteloc Racing team wins the RC2 and WRC-3 categories.

Second in RC2, Mads Ostberg, who suffered considerable time loss in SS3 after a broken rim, showcased his talent to win WRC-2 category and the lead in the championship. The norwegian driver will participate to Rally Sweden in WRC-2, next february.

For his first appearance in rally with a Citroën C3 R5 run by DG Sport, French up and comer Nicolas Ciamin starts his WRC-3 season with a promising second place. The young driver, originated from Nice, has demonstrated great maturity in this race, attacking when possible, showing consistency and precision when conditions got worse.

Last year WRC-3 winner with his C3 R5 form CHL Sport Auto, Yoann Bonato completes a 100% Citroën C3 R5 podium in WRC-3. The french driver is engaged in a mixed program, alterning between WRC-3 rounds and French Tarmac Championship, which he hopes to win back.

Yohan Rossel, 2019 french Tarmac champion de France with PH Sport C3 R5, has adopted a cautious approach for his first entry in WRC-3 with the Citroën car. Lots of experience and no mistakes, job done for the French rookie.

They said

Eric Camilli – WRC3 winner, 1st RC2 and 9th overall :

« I am thrilled to have won the RC2 class on this year's Rallye Monte-Carlo. We took the lead on SS1 and then succeeded in managing from in front while continuing to push hard, which is never easy in the sort of conditions an event like the Monte Carlo can throw at you. It was my co-driver François-Xavier's first world championship start but he performed faultlessly, as did our Safety Crew whose input also facilitated our job. We had tremendous fun in the C3R5 and I would like to thank Saintéloc Racing for providing us with a perfect car. I also want to thank Citroën and its partners Total and Michelin for giving us the opportunity to contest this fantastic event. »

Mads Østberg – WRC2 winner, 2nd in RC2 et 10th overall :

« We are very pleased with our performance this week, although we were unlucky on Friday when we dropped around 2m40s due to a damaged wheel rim. Our car was competitive from the start and we managed to close the gap to Eric. He performed very well, though, and we knew it would be hard to win the class unless he made a mistake. We were split by less than 40 seconds at the finish but the main thing is that we came first in WRC2. Even if we had succeeded in passing Eric, that's something that wouldn't have changed. It was great to see an all-Citroën top five, and all the hard work put in last year means we should be able to target other victories this season. »

Didier Clément – Citroën Racing Customer competition manager :

« It's superb to see that five of the six C3R5s that started this year's Rallye Monte-Carlo ended up monopolising the top five places. Despite the extremely tricky conditions, the car proved strong and our customers enjoyed solid runs. I would also like to salute the work put in by all the technical staff. The Monte Carlo is such a long event but everyone stayed focused throughout to earn a great result for the C3R5. I am proud of the work accomplished by everyone involved and I would like to thank our partners Total and Michelin for allowing us to support these WRC2 and WRC3 programs. »