17/10/08

Citroen’s success in the WRC - part three

At the start of the 2008 WRC season Olivier Quesnel, 57, took over from Guy Frequelin as Citroen Total team principal. Which, as tasks go, was definitely one of the 'easier said than done' variety.

Taking the baton from the man who had masterminded Citroen's entry into the sport and delivered 42 WRC victories in eight years was a job that carried a huge amount of pressure and responsibility.

Understandably in Monte Carlo WRC observers were keen to see if Quesnel could keep up the team's winning ways. Victory there for Sebastien Loeb was a good start. Nine months later, after the Tour de Corse, Quesnel's team celebrated Sebastien Loeb's tenth win of the season. Going on current form it looks like Quesnel has a firm grip on the winning formula.

But while the results have kept coming this year they have arrived in a different way under Quesnel's leadership. Although involved in the motor racing industry since the mid 1960s, Quesnel's management style owes more to the worlds of team management and entrepreneurship than Frequelin's which had evolved largely through his experiences as a WRC driver.

Quesnel has some racing experience, but by far the biggest chunk of his career to date has been spent in the media, in particular the French magazine publishers Groupe de Presse Michel Hommell which Quesnel was managing director of for 23 years.

And while Frequelin was typically to be found out on the stages with a stopwatch, Quesnel prefers to keep an eye on things from the red Citroen Sport trailer in the service park. After Loeb's recent win in Corsica, we caught up with Olivier to ask him about his management philosophy, how he runs the team and why everything still works so well:

Olivier Quesnel quick CV:

1966 - 1968: Servicing coordination for an amateur driver competing in the French Rally Championship.
1972: Enters the Elf find-a-driver scheme - qualifies for the semi-finals. Is Patrick Tambay's manager until the latter's debut in Formula 1 with Ferrari.
1978 - 1980: President of Simca Racing Team, the operation in charge of the marque's single make championships and competitions. Organisation of rally championships, African rally-raids (Tour Mediterranee, Paris-Dakar) and circuit races.
1980 - 1984: Founds Peugeot Talbot Sport with Jean Todt. World Rally Champions in 1985 and 1986.
1982: Founded Sotiden, a company specialising in the marketing of car care products under the Metal 5 brand. Company sold in 1999.
From 1984: Managing Director of French magazine publishers Groupe de Presse Michel Hommell, specialising in automobile, cycling, music and television titles.
1993 - 2003: Founded Automobiles Michel Hommell which produced 300 Hommell Berlinettes sports cars.

Ten wins from 13 rallies; you must be pleased with your progress so far?
Of course I am pleased but if you look at the way the championship has developed it took us quite a while to be leading. The consistency pays off with this scoring system and you might not need to be winning every event to become world champion. But it's an exciting championship as it's a close fight.

How would you describe your management style?
When you arrive in a team like Citroen, the first thing you notice is how professional every person is in his own area. Also, the team spirit is just great. I tend to manage by trusting everybody is able to do their job. My role is to ensure that it all coordinates well, to help resolve any possible problems and especially make sure that we give our drivers the best material we can. I'd say my management style is very open; I get on with everyone in the team and so they are confident too. I'm very detail minded. Everybody can see I'm always looking and finding out what happened. Any time someone has a problem I'm there and this is the way I work. Understanding the difference between work and leisure is important for maintaining good relations too; for instance you might call somebody and say 'it's finished' then call again five minute later and ask if they want to play tennis.

How does your management style differ from that of Guy Frequelin?
We are different persons so it's really difficult to say. One thing I am sure of is that I am not superstitious! People often ask me about the relationship with Sebastien that was so special between Guy and him, but I am not trying to tell Seb what he has to do. He is a grown up person now and that's different from when he started and Guy needed to 'guide' him a bit. However, I am trying to help Dani as much as I can, to support him and make sure that he finds the confidence to show what he can do. And I think he has done a great job.

Guy used to take his helicopter to the stages and manage things from there. Why don't you?
For a start I hate helicopters. But also I think the best way for me to work is to be close to the engineers, the technical guys and the mechanics. The best way to know what is happening is to be with everybody and to take good decisions at the right moment. If I am in the helicopter or out in the stage, when something happens I need to start looking for the phone... no, for me, it's not the way to work. In rallying I see only the airport, service park and hotel. But I'm there to win, not for anything else.

What do you think the secret is to Citroen's success?
I don't think there is any secret. What I'm quite sure of is that Citroen is a good team - like a family - and we want to win every time. For a lot of that I have to thank Guy Frequelin. He gave me a team in good order and I think with me in control everything is going well and we've carried on winning. In Sebastien and Dani I think I've got the two best drivers in the World Rally Championship. It's my job to give them good cars and for that the people working with me need to know I am confident in their abilities. That way they work well. And you can be happy to work, too. This doesn't need to be like the army.

Why is your team so good on asphalt rallies especially?
For sure our team has a lot of experience on this surface, and has done for a number for years with the Xsara on European rallies, but also Sebastien is quite good on asphalt! It's where he's best and it's the same for Dani. At the beginning it was fair to say our car was better on asphalt than gravel, but now I'm quite sure on gravel the Citroen is a little bit ahead of the other cars.

How much experience do you have as a sportsman?
I used to do a lot of competitive sport, mainly skiing and bicycle racing, but working with Patrick Tambay I spent a lot of time on race circuits. I hate to lose.

Do you give Sebastien any words of motivation before a rally?
No. He doesn't need motivation. He's a shark.

Has there ever been a time when you've needed to pick him up - perhaps after his retirement in Jordan?
No. Never.

Do you have any motor sport heroes of your own?
Maybe Sebastien himself?

On WRC events how do you motivate your team members to keep working at the top level?
I don't think I really need to motivate any of my team members because they are already. A person in this environment needs to be very passionate about his job and to have full dedication otherwise, he cannot last. The best reward the team can have is winning and clinching the title at the end of the season.

What is the hardest thing about running the Citroen team?
Maybe is to be favourite for the title and knowing that our boss would like us to win the drivers and the manufacturers' championship?

And the best?
The same!

The forthcoming technical regulation changes will mean a new rally car for 2010. Have you started work on it yet?
We are also waiting for the FIA World Council to confirm a lot of decisions for the future and that is more important to us for the moment.

There must be a lot of pressure on you to keep up the winning momentum?
Yes of course but that's also my job and this is also why it's a great position.

What are your personal ambitions in the WRC?
I would like to try to lead Citroen to more titles and make sure that I prepare a good future for the team and the people at the factory.

Citroen has reached 52 wins at WRC level. What is the objective now, do you want to beat Lancia's record of 74?
It's very good that we reached 52 wins but the target is not really to beat Lancia - even if it would nice to achieve the record.

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