One week before Rally Australia
Now that Citroen have clinched both championship titles, Team Principal Guy Frequelin will feel less pressure going into the last round of the season: Rally Australia.
In all your time in the sport, have you ever experienced such a rewarding weekend as you did in Catalonia?
"Probably not! As a driver, I was obviously delighted each time I won, but the joy and buzz I feel as Team Principle are altogether different. This is something you share with the whole team and the whole company. I can only recall a couple of moments that were as emotional as the finish of the Rally Catalunya: our first win on the Dakar – my first success as a Team Principal and, on top of that, in the biggest rally-raid of them all – and perhaps our Paris-Peking win because of its symbolic value for Citroën as a modern-day equivalent to the celebrated `Croisière Jaune`. However, the way we swept the table in Catalonia – winning outright, clinching the WRC and JWRC titles and the superb result of Xevi Pons – will remain etched in my mind for ever. And all this came just after the announcement of our return in 2007. I couldn`t have been happier!"

After an occasion such as that, how do you set about motivating the team when there`s little else to play for and when the one remaining event takes place more than 14,000 km from Versailles-Satory?

"Our motivation is the same as ever; like any team involved in competition, we want to win. Last year, after learning that our WRC programme was going to be halted at the end of 2005, as well as being deeply affected by Carlos Sainz`s accident during recce and his last-minute withdrawal from the event, the team still dug deep to clinch its seventh win of the season. This year, we travel to Perth with a freer mind and there is no reason why our approach should be any different. I would even go as far as to say that Rally Australia marks the beginning of our 2007 campaign, so it will also be case of building for the future."

Citroën has obtained its third consecutive Manufacturers` title. Does that mean your two crews will have carte blanche in Perth?
"Essentially, yes. That said, I will ask them to take care not to hurt themselves. The Australian stages are very fast and unstable, with trees often very close. If in addition to that we can avoid damaging the cars, it would be even better. That too is part and parcel of managing a budget."


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