Citroen confirms 2017 WRC crewsposted in WRC05 | 10 | 2016
CITROEN HAS CONFIRMED Colin McRae protege Kris Meeke will be joined by fellow Irishman Craig Breen, and Frenchman Stéphane Lefebvre in leading the French company’s assault on the World Rally Championship in 2017 and ’18.
Just days after the Citroën C3 WRC concept car was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, the three crews were confirmed this morning.
While Kris Meeke and co-driver Paul Nagle — winners already this year in Portugal and Finland — will tackle all the rounds, the Craig Breen/Scott Martin, and Stéphane Lefebvre/Gabin Moreau partnerships will alternate driving duties. The exact allocation of events-to-drivers will be announced at a later stage and Citroën will start entering three cars as soon as possible.
“This is all I’ve ever dreamed of,” Breen said today. “It’s all a bit overwhelming.”
The trio will also be joined by chairman of Abu Dhabi Racing, Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi, who will compete with his co-driver Chris Patterson at some events in 2017.
Since April, the Citroën C3 WRC — which heralds the new generation of World Rally Cars — has completed seven development tests, both on gravel and tarmac, and is now very close to the final version. The cars make their competitive debut at the 2017 Rallye Monte-Carlo in January.
Driving their current Citroën DS3 World Rally Cars, Meeke, Breen and Al Qassimi will next tackle the Rally of Spain, before Meeke, Breen, and Lefebvre head into Wales Rally GB for the car's swansong appearance.
Related: Meeke bags emotional podium
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Jim McGill