Mikkelsen "very sad" Meeke dropped by Citroen for Poland
Andreas Mikkelsen is confident he and Kris Meeke could have challenged for the WRC manufacturers' title for Citroen if they had worked together all season.
Andreas Mikkelsen, Anders Jäger, Citroën C3 WRC, Citroën World Rally Team
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Mikkelsen said he was sad at Meeke’s absence from this weekend’s Rally Poland, but hoped his test work on the C3 WRC would benefit the whole squad moving forward.
The Norwegian, who finished eighth on his debut with Citroen in Italy earlier this month, replaced Meeke following the Northern Irishman’s crash during the Sardinian round, and has spent four days testing in the Mikolajki region of Poland alongside teammates Craig Breen and Stephane Lefebvre.
“I’m very sad that Kris won’t be part of the team in Poland,” Mikkelsen told Motorsport.com. “And in a way I’m sad that it’s me who is replacing him.
"There’s no question it would have been a strong team to have Kris and I together this year. He knows the team and I would come with experience of the 2017 [Volkswagen] Polo. We could have challenged for the manufacturers’ [title].”
As well as the still-born 2017 Polo, Mikkelsen also has experience of testing the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, which has helped him to shape his input into Citroen's C3.
“I hope Kris likes what we have done [to the C3],” he said. “I look forward to hearing what he thinks and I hope what we have done in Poland will help and make the car quicker for Finland.
“We really made progress in that test. We worked on every aspect of the car, literally everything: suspension, differentials, we also went in different directions when it came to the kinematics.
"We looked at everything that makes the car work. We weren’t just rearranging the current parts on the car."
Tweaks for Poland
Citroen has implemented two homologation changes for Poland with a new rear differential rail and a modification to the torque split between front and rear axles.
Meeke was unavailable for comment on the changes, but a source within the team confirmed these were both areas where the Rally Mexico winner had been pushing for change.
Talking about the changes to the car and team, Citroen team principal Yves Matton said: “We needed to take a step back to note that some of the risks we had taken during development of the C3 WRC were not paying off.
"Our car is unquestionably fast, but the window in which it works efficiently was proving too narrow.
“We have, therefore, begun making some major changes to our organisation, our methods and our principles. The first of these was the arrival of Andreas Mikkelsen, who encouraged us to explore some new ideas.
"After his first proper test session in the C3 WRC, we have introduced some upgrades that supplement the work done over the last few months.
"With a more versatile car, our drivers will be able to aim for the kind of results that match Citroen’s high expectations.”
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