The R5 Class: The Story So Far

Welcome to the R5 class history, a series where we will be taking a look at the cars in the R5/Rally2 class, and how they performed in the most competitive of championships, as well as what drivers performed the best in them. I have put together an algorithm that counts the wins, podiums and stage wins of each Rally2 car, and ranks them based on these achievements. A win counts for 3 points, a podium counts for one, and each stage win is worth a tenth of a point. We continue this series with the second R5 to be homologated, the Peugeot 208 T16 R5.

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The Peugeot 208 T16 R5 was the replacement to the 207 S2000, and was based on the road going Peugeot 208. The T16 on the car’s name was a tribute to the Peugeot 205 T16, which gave Peugeot great success in the Group B era. The car made its debut at the 2013 Ypres Rally, as the 0 car. 

It would make its competitive debut 10 months later at the Acropolis Rally, the fourth round of the European Rally Championship. The car would perform great on its debut, with Craig Breen winning the rally, winning four stages on both tarmac and rough gravel. It could have easily been a Peugeot 1-2 if it wasn’t for Kevin Abbring’s retirement at the end of SS5. The Dutchman was leading the rally before that. 

Unfortunately, mechanical issues would continue to plague the 208 T16 throughout its lifecycle. In Azores, another potential 1-2 was thrown away after Breen suffered an electrical failure from the lead, with Abbring also suffering a power-steering failure, costing him a win. In Ypres, Abbring would again retire from the lead from a mechanical failure, and the same would happen in Zlin, this time with an engine failure.

Breen would retire in Cyprus due to another electrical failure, but would finish 2nd in Valais. Meanwhile, Abbring again retired, this time due to a clutch issue. At the season finale in Corsica, Abbring would finish 3rd, his second finish of the year, with Breen retiring from a podium place, due to yet another mechanical failure.

For 2015, Breen would also compete in WRC2 as well as ERC. He would finish 2nd in Monte Carlo and 3rd in Wales, but would retire due to mechanical issues in Portugal, Finland and Catalunya. Paolo Andreucci would manage a podium with the 208 by finishing 2nd in Sardinia.

In the ERC, Breen would win in Liepaja, Ireland and Azores, but would crash in Janner and had an off road moment in Ypres. He would also have a mechanical DNF in Estonia. Despite his three wins, he would lose the ERC title to Kajetanowicz. As for the others, Bruno Magalhaes would repeat his Cyprus podium from last year, and Stephane Lefebvre would lose out on a good result in Ypres due to punctures.

In 2016, Breen left the team to join Citroen in the WRC. Jose Antonio Suarez would compete with Peugeot in WRC2, but would not get any good results, just 7 stage wins. Hubert Ptaszek would finish on the podium twice, in a car prepared by Peugeot Slovakia.

In the European Rally Championship, Kris Princen would finish 2nd in Ypres. That would be the 208’s last ever podium in either series.

For 2017, Jose Antonio Suarez and Pepe Lopez would compete in the ERC with Peugeot, but would not get any good results. Lopez’s 4th in Azores and Suarez’s 4th in Liepaja was the best the team and the car managed by any entrant.

Laurent Pellier would run an ERC campaign with Peugeot in 2018, but again without any major results. He’d be the one to get the 208’s last stage win in either series.

The Peugeot 208 would be replaced by the C3 R5 by 2018. As with every homologated car, it would continue to be used by slower privateers. Its last entry in the WRC came in Rally Sardinia in 2022 at the hands of Francesco Marrone, with its last ERC participation being with Pellier at the end of the 2018 season.

In the end, the Peugeot would amass 4 wins, all from Craig Breen, and 19 podiums. While the car had speed, especially in 2014, its many mechanical issues made it hard to attract interest from privateers. Breen’s departure at the end of 2015, also made it difficult for Peugeot to showcase any potential improvements they had made, as they had a rather subpar lineup. The 208 and the DS3 were problematic, and would both be replaced by the C3 R5, which would end up being an improvement. 

Below you can find a list of every driver to win an event, score a podium or achieve a stage win while driving a 208 T16 R5.