Chris Atkinson is ready for a one-off return to the WRC aboard a factory Citroen for Rally Mexico

• By William Dale
• SPEED
• March 07, 2013 2:05PM

 

He's back ... Atkinson has landed a one-off factory Citroen drive on Rally Mexico. Source: Supplied

Australian rally fans will have someone to cheer for this weekend at Rally Mexico, with Chris Atkinson landing a one-off drive with the Citroen World Rally team. 

Chris Atkinson Source: Supplied

 

'Atko' will step into the factory-run DS3 WRC usually piloted by Khalid Al Qassimi, the Qatari driver unavailable for the North American event due to other commitments.
"I'm always happy to be back in the WRC and race with a team as competitive as Citroën Racing," Atkinson said. "It’s an awesome opportunity for me, because I had no plans to take part in the World Championship this season."

Atkinson has been without a regular WRC drive since BMW pulled the plug on the factory Mini program at the end of 2012.

Rally Mexico has been a happy hunting ground for the 33-year-old in the past, scoring a second place finish aboard a Subaru in 2008 to go with a pair of top-10 finishes in 2006 and 2007.
It's been a while since he last piloted a works-backed Citroen, after landing a one-off drive at Rally Finland last year.
"I tested the car in Portugal last week and although it was raining, it did give me the chance to get back into the swing of things.
"These cars are amazing to drive and I’ve enjoyed success here in the past so a top-5 finish would be a sweet result for myself and the team."
It will be a very different WRC that Atkinson returns to. Volkswagen have arrived to give Citroen a run for their money, Sebastien Ogier landing their first win at the previous round in Sweden.
But the biggest change will be the absence of reigning world champion Sebastien Loeb in Mexico.
The nine-time world champion competed in the first two rallies of the season, winning in Monte Carlo, but will only return for Argentina and France as he enters semi-retirement from the forest stages.
Rally Mexico is the first world championship event without Loeb's name on the entry list since 2006, when he missed the final four rounds with injury.