Martin Prokop will get the chance to test a Citroen C4 WRC later this week as a reward for his performances during the 2008 World Rally Championship season.
For the second season in a row, Citroen offered the test to a C2 Junior Experience competitor who was able to come third in the Junior World Rally Championship – with Prokop doing so after a season that saw him win on three occasion in Finland, Spain and Corsica.
He will now get the chance to test the C4 WRC in the forests of Sweet Lamb on Friday, where his car will be taken care of by the PH Sport team.
"Like the inaugural series, the second edition of the C2 Junior Experience was a big hit, and Martin Prokop succeeded in repeating his strong result of 2007, despite running a little short of luck on occasions," Simon Jean-Joseph, the recently-appointed manager of Citroen Sport's Customer Competition Department, said. "Following his drive in the Xsara last year, he will get the chance to try another exceptional car this time round: the C4 WRC! I am convinced Martin will succeed in profiting from his day to gain further experience in a WRC car and also thoroughly enjoy himself.
"He is a first class ambassador for the brand, and I hope this session will be of help to him when it comes to choosing his programme for 2009. I would obviously be delighted to see him in our ranks again."
Prokop himself, who has competed in a Citroen C2 in the JWRC since 2006, said he couldn't wait to get behind the wheel of the C4 WRC for the first time.
"This is a great opportunity for me and I can't wait to get behind the wheel of a Citroen WRC car again," he admitted. "During the 2008 C2 Junior Experience, which is an excellent series, I did all I could to obtain a strong result and winning this test drive is a great reward for all the hard work put in by everyone in my team.
"I would also like to thank Citroen for giving me this chance to drive the C4 which is one of the most competitive WRC car around today. It's certainly a dream come true for me. Driving the Xsara was a fantastic experience and, although that was a year ago now, it will be interesting to try to compare the two machines. WRC cars are just so much faster; you can brake much later and there's always plenty of power available. I will need a little time to adapt, but probably less than I did in 2007.
"I'm looking forward to working on the settings with the team and seeing what sort of influence the different set-ups have on the car's handling. I will also try to make the most of the day and improve as I go along. As was the case last year, my main concern is that I won't want to hand the car back afterwards!"
