Fed up with Francois Duval’s inconsistent performances this season, Citroën team boss Guy Frequelin has recruited recently-retired WRC legend Carlos Sainz to substitute the young Belgian driver on next weekend’s Rally of Turkey.
Fed up with Francois Duval’s inconsistent performances this season, Citroën team boss Guy Frequelin has recruited recently-retired WRC legend Carlos Sainz to substitute the young Belgian driver on next weekend’s Rally of Turkey.
Sainz – who insists his return is for one rally only – hasn’t been in a World Rally Car since January, when he did a one-off test for Citroën as part of its build-up to the season-opening Rally of Monte Carlo. However, the ever-consistent Spaniard won the Rally of Turkey when it made its debut on the WRC calendar in 2003.
Duval split with co-driver Stephane Prevot after crashing out of a points finish in Cyprus, adding further frustration to an already rocky start to his season with Citroën. Frequelin publicly admitted he was frustrated with Duval’s finishing record, which was hampering the team’s efforts to capture a third manufacturers’ title in a row.
“I haven’t competed for seven months now,” Sainz said recently. “My wish is to do a good rally for Citroen and to help the team get some points for the manufacturers’ championship. After seven months out, I don’t know how I will find the car, but I’m looking forward to going back – but for only one rally.”
Sainz, whose co-driver will be his most recent partner Marc Marti, was surprised at how Duval has struggled this year. “I haven’t followed it (the championship) 100 per cent, but I’m surprised. Francois is a very good driver and I’m still confident that he can make it. I don’t know what the problem has been, whether it’s something mental or some communication thing. He can come back from this.”
As yet, there’s no decision from Citroën on a long-term plan for its second manufacturers’ championship points-nominated car. This could be a chance to take the pressure off Duval, or replace him full-time with another driver.
“Citroen’s results in the manufacturers’ championship are not matching our goals,” said Frequelin. “To give ourselves more time to think about the strategy we will adopt for the rest of the season, and considering Carlos’s record during the past two years, I’ve asked him if he could drive for us in Turkey.”
