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The second leg of the 2009 RallyRACC Catalunya saw the domination of the C4 WRCs continue with a further full-house of fastest times. The two Citroën Total World Rally Team crews spent the day trading the lead, but it is finally Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena who will start the last leg on top, less than two seconds ahead of Dani Sordo/Marc Marti. Citroën appears to have an excellent chance of securing its fifth consecutive one-two finish on the Spanish asphalt classic.

Competitors were once again greeted by glorious sunshine as they headed for the first group of stages, with the day’s programme based on the event’s now-traditional format of three tests in the morning repeated in the afternoon.Dani Sordo kicked off the leg with a cushion of 1.6 seconds over his team-mate, but Sébastien Loeb was fastest on today’s first stage El Priorat-La Ribera d’Ebre (SS7), the longest of the weekend. The result of the test put the five-time World Champion exactly level with his team-mate in the overall standings: “I think I drove well, and it was important to look after our tyres over the full 38 kilometres.” The Frenchman then came second behind fellow Citroën driver Sébastien Ogier on SS8 to go clear at the top. Dani Sordo responded on the following test, however, to recover the lead… by less than a second!

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“This morning was great fun,” admitted the Spaniard back at the service area in Salou. “Our pace was sufficiently quick to stay concentrated, but without taking any risks. The gap over Mikko Hirvonen has increased and we intend to keep up the same sort of momentum this afternoon.”

“Dani and I both know that the important thing is to stay on the road, but we are driving as we feel… and we feel comfortable. This fight between us is enabling us to stay focused. In any case, it’s practically impossible to drive a WRC any other way than quickly,” explained Sébastien.

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True to their word, the two Citroën Total WRT crews continued at a similar pace after the lunchtime service break. Mindful of the need to play it safe, however, they both carried two spare wheels for the afternoon’s loop. After claiming another fastest time on SS11 (Les Garrigues 2), Sébastien Loeb eased back ahead after SS12 (La Llena 2): “It’s been a good team effort with Dani today. I had to take the lead at some point because it’s vital that I win here to give myself the very best chance of winning the title. I enjoyed today’s stages. There’s only one true asphalt event on the calendar this year, so I’ve been trying to make the most of it.”

“The situation as its stands is perfect for Citroën, too,” observed Dani Sordo. “We mustn’t forget, though, that there’s still another full day of competition and six more stages to come, so nobody’s entirely safe from an unpleasant surprise. We will need to keep our eye on the ball to the very end to make sure we conclude our run with a one-two finish.”

A much-anticipated C4 World Rally Car, intended to replace the multiple World Rally Championship-winning Citroën Xsara WRC, was first sighted in 2004 with testing duties assigned to double world rally champion Carlos Sainz. Having once been earmarked for a late 2005 competitive debut, the decision by the controlling PSA Group to withdraw both Citroën and stablemates Peugeot from works participation at the end of the 2005 season led to the momentary abandonment of the project.

Since then, however, the marque etched in a comeback for the 2007 season during which a revived C4 WRC was scheduled for its official debut, with the then-thrice world champion Sébastien Loeb as the official first driver, and Daniel Sordo, the 2005 Junior World Rally Champion, later confirmed alongside him after an impressive 2006 season for the Spaniard. In its official debut, at the 2007 Monte Carlo Rally, the two C4 WRCs finished 1-2, with Loeb winning ahead of Sordo. Loeb subsequently secured both the 2007 and 2008 Driver’s titles, with Citroën claiming the 2008 Manufacturers’ Award.

Its success has even continued after the road car ceased production and the rally car passed into the privateer hands of the Kronos team for 2006, with the latest World Rally Cars struggling to beat the previous season’s Citroën Xsara WRC! Indeed, this year the Xsara WRC has not just been the car to beat, it has been the dominant force in the World Rally Championship, with Citroën heading for another double World title win of manufacturers’ and drivers’ titles for 2007, to go with the manufacturers titles the Xsara won in 2003, 2004 and 2005, along with drivers’ titles for Loeb in 2004 and 2005.

The eagerly anticipated replacement is the Citroën C4 WRC, which will appear for the first time in its final form at the Paris International Motor Show on 28 September 2006, after debuting as a the C4 Sport Concept in 2004 as a preview for the Citroën C4 road car.

The Sport Concept first turned a wheel in anger in September 2004 and it has then been in development by Citroën since then, preparing for its return to the highest rung of rally motorsport in 2007. Loeb first drove the C4 WRC at Citroën’s test track near Paris in December 2005 and, in between his WRC commitments, has been helping develop the new car.

Citroën has also confirmed that Loeb and his co-driver, Daniel Elena, will be sharing the Citroën C4 WRC with Dani Sordo and Mark Marti in the number two car. Sordo is the reigning Junior World Rally Champion, having won the title in a Citroën C2 Super 1600 in 2005 and he has been helping Citroën earn manufacturers’ points in the 2006 after starting the season in a third Citroën Xsara WRC.

Remarkably, considering that the World Rally Championship, like nearly all motorsport, is bound up tightly in wide ranging rules, the designers were given a completely free hand to design a vehicle that would symbolize the renewal of Citroën. This was the Citroën C4 Sport Concept, a true exercise in style that met the futuristic vision of a new competition car.
Adapting to regulations

Although the overall styling was maintained from the C4 Sport Concept, the car then had to be adapted to international regulations and performance requirements.

This is where the design office of Citroën Sport stepped in. The project working group came up with a first rolling model of the Citroën C4 WRC that was already a long way from the original concept.

The roof, for example, was no longer made of glass, since this is banned in rally racing. The front and rear wings, bumpers and spoiler were modified to satisfy regulations and performance criteria. To save time and money, a number of body parts were studied in wind tunnels on a scale of ¼ before validation of the full-size parts at the end of the project.

The role of the development programme was to validate the parts and powertrain sub-systems developed by the design office. Reliability was the first factor and performance the second. To achieve the desired result, several working sessions were necessary on both asphalt and gravel. The technical team of Citroën Sport then compared the performance of the C4 WRC with that of the Xsara, which remained the benchmark, the absolute reference point.

Although it is still in its development phase, the Citroën C4 WRC has shown real potential. Now, its performance can only truly be confirmed in rally conditions.
Expectations and objectives

The mechanics, engineers, crews and managers of Citroën Sport, are now impatient to see how the C4 WRC performs in an actual rally event. Designed to be as easy to drive and as reliable as the Xsara WRC, the C4 WRC aims to set even higher standards of efficiency and performance. A car built and developed to enable Citroën to target the “drivers” and “manufacturers” titles once more from 2007.
Main technical characteristics of the Citroën C4 WRC

Like the Xsara, its glorious predecessor, the Citroën C4 WRC features four-wheel drive and a 2.0 litre turbocharged engine mated to a transverse-mounted 6-speed gearbox. At 4.20 metes, the C4 WRC is longer than the Xsara and, in line with regulations, therefore has a greater width of 1,800 mm, compared with 1,700 mm for the Xsara. This change should provide better stability on bends.

As also laid down in the new regulations, the use of electronic driving aids is limited, in the same way as for the Xsara in its 2006 configuration. Referring again to the regulatory budget cuts, the sub-systems of the C4 WRC – such as the engines, gearboxes, front, central and rear differentials and dampers – must last longer and be more reliable.