Citroën Racing’s RallyRACC Catalunya - Rally de España (24 - 27 October) test caused a stir when its C3 car ran with significant aerodynamic upgrades at the front and rear.

The team declined to comment on the evolution of the car’s aero but said the four-day test went well. Technical director Olivier Maroselli said: “All I can say on this subject is that we are working flat out.”

The C3 ran on asphalt for three days, two with Sébastien Ogier at the wheel and one with Esapekka Lappi driving, with a single day of gravel development testing for Eric Camilli.

Ogier has challenged the team to pull out all the stops in an effort to bring more sealed-surface speed from the C3 for the penultimate round after it struggled to match the front-running pace at August’s ADAC Rallye Deutschland.

Maroselli said the team was confident it had cured the understeer issue which plagued the cars in Germany.

“We mainly worked and improved on the differential side,” he said. “We found some interesting ideas on that side already on the Satory track and we could go further here on representative roads.

“It’s also the first time that we use on Tarmac the new front geometry introduced in Finland. We also worked on the dampers side. Everything combined, we solved the understeering issue, which was our main issue on the last Tarmac rounds. We clearly improved the balance of the car and the drivers’ feeling confirms it.

“But nothing replaces the race itself. What we don’t know yet is if it will be enough or not in terms of performance. But we will keep working flat out till the rally to be as competitive as possible.”

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