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Mads Østberg replaced by Stéphane Lefebvre

Mads Østberg and Jonas Andersson have had to pull out this year's Rally Australia following an accident during recce for the event. Initially in Australia to complete recce of the course, Stéphane Lefebvre and Stéphane Prévot have been chosen to step in as last-minute replacements in the no.4 DS 3 WRC.

The Franco-Belgian crew has therefore been nominated to score points on behalf of Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team in the manufacturers' championship.
Mads Østberg and Jonas Andersson have never made such a bad start to a rally, after becoming involved in a road accident during the first day of recce. "We collided head on with a truck, which was also driving on the wrong side of the gravel road," explained the Norwegian driver. "We simply couldn't avoid it. Fortunately, the car's safety features did their job."

With two cracked ribs for Mads and extensive bruising for Jonas, the crew has nonetheless had to pull out of Rally Australia. "We tried to continue with recce, but it would be impossible for us to compete properly and safely in the rally. We have therefore pulled out on the grounds of force majeure. We're very disappointed, because we believed we would be competitive and could fight to regain third place in the Drivers' World Championship."

Having flown out to Australia to take part in recce for the event as preparation for a future appearance here, Stéphane Lefebvre and Stéphane Prévot have been unsurprisingly chosen by Citroën Racing to take part in Rally Australia in the no.4 DS 3 WRC.

"First and foremost, the entire team is very disappointed for Mads and Jonas. They had the motivation and the potential to secure a very good result on this surface," commented Marek Nawarecki, Deputy Team Principal, Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team. "When it became clear that they would have to pull out, we decided to maintain the entry of the no.4 DS 3 WRC, entrusting it to Stéphane Lefebvre et Stéphane Prévot. Without any pre-event preparation, we are not expecting him to be competitive. But it will be another opportunity for him to learn about rallying at this level. We'll be asking him to finish the rally to score some points in the Manufacturers‘ World Championship."

"I feel very sorry for Mads and Jonas, because we're all part of a big family at Citroën Racing. I hope they'll be back to full fitness very quickly," added Stéphane Lefebvre. "I have never driven the DS 3 WRC on gravel so I'm expecting it to be a tough weekend. Ordinarily, I prepare for a rally several weeks in advance by watching on-board camera footage from previous years to get a feel for the stages. I won't be able to do that here, but all experience is welcome and I'm grateful to Citroën Racing for having put their faith in me. I'll be treating this first rally with the respect it deserves, to try and meet the target set for me by the team."

Rally Australia begins on Thursday, 10 September with the shakedown from 9.30am local time (GMT+10).