Lefebvre to re-start

Citroen stand-in Stephane Lefebvre will re-start on Rally Australia under Rally 2 on Saturday, it has been confirmed.

Lefebvre, who was drafted in at the last minute after Mads Ostberg's recce crash, had been running ninth overall until he hit a rock around 20 km into the final test of the day, Newry Long 2 and broke the front right wishbone on his DS 3 WRC.

He will now rejoin on day two, albeit down in 17th position - and will also have to run first on the road.

"I have really enjoyed driving the DS 3 WRC on these roads," said the young Frenchman, who only made his competitive debut in the car in Germany three weeks ago.

"I'm perhaps not very quick as yet, but I'm learning. We weren't expecting to be as competitive in the first three stages.

"The conditions undoubtedly helped us, but we had never driven the DS 3 WRC competitively on gravel. This afternoon, we tried to improve. Unfortunately, we broke a ball-joint on the suspension wishbone when he hit a rock on the final stage.

"We'll be able to rejoin tomorrow, but we'll be first on the road. So that's something else we'll have to tackle for the first time!"

Citroen boss Yves Matton added: "For his first day in the DS 3 WRC on gravel, Stephane was able to see how the two types of tyres handle differently.

"He learned a lot and it's important that he keeps going tomorrow so he can acquire more experience for the future."