Rossel eyes enlarged WRC3 challenge

The 25-year-old Frenchman says he has some budget for a 2021 campaign. But he’s hoping his Monte victory, after a thrilling flight with countrymen and fellow Citroën C3 Rally2 drivers Yoann Bonato and Nicolas Ciamin, will be enough to sign-off for the season.

Rossel drove four rounds of last year’s WRC3 championship and although he will skip next month’s second round in Finland, he is looking at a return with the Saintéloc Racing squad after that.

“I won’t compete in the Arctic Rally Finland (26 - 28 February),” he confirmed. “After that we will see what’s possible.

“I have four rallies this year and this is why winning Monte Carlo was so important for me. I’m leading the championship after round one and that’s a nice place to be. Now I hope to continue with Citroën and with the [French] Federation.”

Rossel’s first WRC3 win came with last-minute drama when he suffered a flat tyre on the closing Wolf Power Stage.

“It was a scare,” he said. “It happened after 8km, but in the end we were OK and I could take the win. This is a really important result for me.”