For the first time this season, the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team is to contest a rally with a line-up of three C3 WRCs.

Following on from their dramatic win in Mexico, Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle will lead the charge, alongside Craig Breen/Scott Martin and Stéphane Lefebvre/Gabin Moreau.

Since Monte-Carlo is not regarded as an exclusively tarmac rally, Tour de Corse will therefore see the 2017 World Rally Cars fight it out on this surface for the first time. Keen observers – especially the teams' engineers – will therefore be eager to compare the performances of the cars to keep defining a pecking order. With three different manufacturers winning the first three rallies, this season looks set to be a very open contest.

Clearly, the goals are different for the three drivers. Boosted by his win in Mexico, Kris Meeke will be looking to confirm the potential shown in last year's rally. After a puncture put him out of contention for the win, the Derry man set a series of excellent stage times, which suggests that he will be challenging among the frontrunners this year.

Fifth overall last October, Craig Breen will also be able to call upon his experience and aim for an even better result. The situation will be different for Stéphane Lefebvre, who has only competed here once before in a WRC. The young Frenchman will therefore need to fine tune his knowledge of the roads before testing himself against the top drivers.

Yves Matton, Citroën Team Principal: "For a French manufacturer, the Tour de Corse is clearly a very special event. In order to try and secure Citroën's ninth win at the rally, we are entering three C3 WRCs for the first time this season. This means we can adopt a calmer approach to our race management and our young drivers will have a bit more freedom to define their strategy. After contesting last year's rally, Kris and Craig will be able to use their experience since the itinerary is almost identical. Kris showed his potential on this surface and I think that he'll be able to challenge at the front. Given that he didn't race here last year, it wouldn’t be surprising if Stéphane was slightly off the pace. But he is very motivated to do well at his home round."

Kris Meeke says: "For sure, we won in Mexico, but the Tour de Corse is a completely different kettle of fish. For me, this rally is the ultimate challenge on tarmac. Last year, I really enjoyed the stages and I would've been in contention for the win had I not made a minor mistake. I can't say that I come into the rally full of confidence, but I'm very pleased with the work done in testing. We have a good car, with consistent handling. In the rally itself, we'll see if we are close to our full potential. I can’t wait to get started, I'm expecting it to be very close at the front."

Craig Breen looking forward to the event had this to say:  "I was surprised to learn that I'm the team's most experienced driver at this rally. It's true that I know the Tour de Corse very well and I really love racing here. There are some similarities with conditions in Ireland, like the unpredictable weather and the uneven surface of the roads, which are sometimes in poor condition. Last year, I had a good feeling on my first tarmac rally in a WRC. This year, I hope I'll be able to put together a series of stages with a good level of confidence. It really is all about confidence with these new cars. If I can manage to do that, then we should secure a good result."