The World Rally Championship is set to shift gears when Rally Mexico, the first of six straight rounds on gravel, gets under way over the weekend.
And unlike last year, where Volkswagen Polo R driver Sebastien Ogier had amassed 46 points from the opening two rounds, the Frenchman this year returns to Mexico five points adrift of teammate Jari-Matti Latvala with Citroen Total Abu Dhabi’s Mads Ostberg a further five points behind in third.
Increasingly comfortable in his new team, Ostberg made the most of a good test session in Spain last week to get to grips with the DS3 on gravel.
“We are still learning,” admitted the Norwegian. “But every mile we cover in the car makes me happy.”
Having competed in Mexico for the last three years, his best result being fourth overall in 2012, Ostberg hopes to do even better this year.
“Although we have to bear in mind that Rally Mexico will still be our first rally on gravel in the DS3,convinced that we’ll be competitive. I’m positive. A podium finish would be an excellent result.”
For Citroen’s second driver, Kris Meeke, the weekend will pose a brand-new challenge – the Northern Irishman has never competed before in Mexico.
Meeke showed he was very quick last year at the Finnish and Australian rounds in the DS3, but said: “Mexico requires a very different set-up. I have worked on the videos and have listened carefully to advice from the team and from Mads.
“The aim is to score as many points as we can on the overseas events. I’d be pleased with a top-five finish,” Meeke added.
Citroen’s goals thus are clear for this season, take as many points as possible early on because last year the gap with Volkswagen was so big that it was impossible for the Abu Dhabi team to get anywhere near the German carmaker, who won the team title by a staggering 114 points.
In contrast, Volkswagen is just 16 points ahead of Citroen going into the Mexico round and the French carmaker will be hoping to narrow that further come Sunday.
And while defending champion Ogier may not be where he would have liked to be on the points table, Volkswagen are taking heart in the fact that Latvala occupies top position while their third driver, Andreas Mikkelsen, is fourth overall.
Ogier said: “I like the Rally Mexico. The goal for this year is obviously to repeat last season’s victory. The special stages in Mexico, some of which are very long, are always a big challenge for us.”
Team-mate Latvala added: “The win in Sweden was a special moment for me, and has obviously given me an extra dose of confidence.
“We used tests in Spain to prepare meticulously for the forthcoming gravel rally in Mexico and the difficult conditions we will encounter there.
“If everything goes perfectly to plan, it could still even be possible to win. However, that is not my main goal. We want at least to finish in the points. A place on the podium would be great.”
