Citroen team principal Yves Matton has confirmed the accident that ruled Robert Kubica out of the lead of the Rallye du Var was caused by a pacenote error.
Kubica’s C4 WRC was destroyed in the fire that followed the crash on the penultimate stage of the rally, but the crew both emerged unscathed.
It has now emerged that the accident was not caused by Kubica making a mistake, but by his co-driver Emanuele Inglesi calling the wrong pacenote.
Despite the crash, Matton is keen to work with Kubica next season.
“I was very impressed with Robert,” said Matton. “For sure, he has pace in the rally. I have to say the times he was doing against [Freddy] Loix were very surprising.
“He was beating his rivals on every stage and all the time he was so motivated.
In the end, he crashed because of the wrong pacenote – he was 40km/h too fast and it was impossible to take the corner. Unfortunately, the car is finished because it caught fire.”
Matton added that while Citroen was keen to continue its relationship with Kubica, any World Rally Championship outings were dependent on funding.
“We are interested to do something more with Robert and it can be possible to do something with the DS3 WRC next season,” he said.
“We run three cars sometimes, but this year we have run as many as five cars, so it would be possible for us to have a car for him to use.
“What we need to find if the budget, it’s sure that we cannot just give the car to him – but I think it is possible for him to find a partner.”
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