Like buses

You wait years for a new French name among the ERC regulars, and then two come along together!

And what a pair France is sending out into the ERC this year, 2009 champion Marc Laboulle and the man that Laboulle’s M Technologies team guided to the 2010 French title, Davy Jeanney will both graduate. Laboulle drives the latest new Citroën C4 from M Technologies while Jeanney, who drove the team’s Xsara last year, has bought one of its C4s and will run it from his own squad. The two cars are identical in spec, running transverse engines and Sadev transmissions. Laboulle has worked hard to evolve the technical package over the last few years, and has also been instrumental in the development of Michaelin radial tyres that he will use this year.

Laboulle plans to drive nine of the ten ERC rounds, he will miss the Austrian round in order to race at Lohéac – an event he says is so big that he has to be present – while Jeanney is to dovetail a full ERC programme with an assault on the French gravel rally championship. He will also make one appearance in the French Rallycross Championship, at his home event in Chateauroux-St-Maur in June.

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