Behind Citroën’s incredible sports record, there are obviously some fantastic cars. Most of them are actually on display until the end of the year in Flin (Meurthe-et-Moselle), near Nancy, in a magnificent exhibition showcasing 60 years of the brand’s competition success. You can find the DS and the 2CV Cross from the 1970s, the Visa 100 Pistes and the BX 4TC in Group B, but also the winning machines that became the ZX Rally-raid and then the various WRCs of the chevron brand (Xsara, C4, DS3) or the C-Elysée WTCC.
But Citroën’s adventure in motorsport is also and above all a story of men. Talented drivers like “Bob” Neyret, Jean-Luc Pailler, Philippe Wambergue, Ari Vatanen, Pierre Lartigue, Philippe Bugalski, and of course, Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier. But above all, outstanding leaders, René Cotton and then his wife Marlène, Guy Verrier and obviously Guy Fréquelin, who shook up what became the unstoppable “Red Army” starting in 1989.
“The public mostly saw the crews but behind them was a whole team showing the way to everyone,” remembers Michel Perrin, Lartigue’s co-pilot who later became team manager.
By surrounding himself with exceptional engineers (Jean-Claude Vaucard, Xavier Mestellan-Pinon, Didier Clément) and devoted individuals to the team (Daniel Grataloup, “Coco” Chiaroni, Yves Matton, who in turn became director of Citroën Racing from 2012 to 2017), the man nicknamed “the Grizzly” always fought to convince the brand’s leaders to give him the means necessary to shine.
“Otherwise, there’s no point in committing because then you’re just a stepping stone,” Fréquelin, 81, still acknowledges today.
Some of his successors, faced with the restrictions imposed by Carlos Tavares at the helm of the PSA Group, did not have this persuasive force, and Citroën’s commitment at the highest level ended in late 2019, after a sad season that marked Sébastien Ogier’s return “home.” The journey through the desert, away from the Dakar sands, lasted until the return of a factory program in Formula E this year. – J.B.
