EA SPORTS WRC Le Maestros DLC hands-on: Va-va-voom

When announced at the back-end of 2024 we assumed the ‘Le Maestros Content Pack’ for EA SPORTS WRC would centre around French superstars Sebastien Ogier and Sebastien Loeb, who, with eight and nine WRC Drivers’ titles respectively, are the two most successful rally drivers in history, 

However, due to a licensing issue, Loeb’s name is conspicuous by its absence (and there’s no Francois Delecour, Didier Auriol or Gilles Panizzi either. Zut alors!). But there’s plenty of extra content for Francophiles to be excited about, including the addition of five notable French rally cars and another that cemented Ogier’s WRC legacy.

The DLC also adds 17 liveries for new and existing cars, with two new maps split into six stages each: Monte Carlo’s Briançonnet and Rally Portugal’s Fafe, which is sure to give bobble-hatters a dangerous case of rally fever.

Check out my thoughts on EA SPORTS WRC’s Le Maestros Content Pack below.

Fafe-ing about

For many rally fans, the standout feature of the Le Maestros DLC will be the addition of Fafe. It’s an 11.18 Km gravel test situated in northern Portugal and features the iconic (in WRC terms) Fafe jump, also known as the ‘Salto da Pedra Sentada’ (the ‘seated stone jump’).

Fans congregate days before to witness their rally heroes take to the skies, where a bad landing can lead to spectacular embarrassment. Take Quentin Gilbert’s incredible nose-dive in 2017 as an example. That was a good day to be a Skoda parts dealer.

The full 11.18 Km test is a surprisingly realistic re-creation of the modern version of Fafe, but it’s a misnomer to suggest it includes six stages. In reality, it’s one stage divided into smaller and reversed sections. Nevertheless, it’s great to have more authenticity in WRC.

EA and Codemasters have brought the dry and dusty back roads of Portugal to life, although the landscape does suffer from WRC’s traditionally muddy-looking vegetation textures, perhaps a relic of the game’s Unreal Engine origins. It’s still a thrill to see the wind turbine-blotted landscape open up ahead of you, though.

I can’t help but feel this would have looked crisper in Codies’ Ego engine, as shader pop-in is still a huge issue. This is massively disappointing considering the game has been out for over a year.

Monte or bust

Briançonnet is another real-world-inspired WRC stage, being part of the Monte Carlo rally that took place over the weekend (23rd-26th January 2025). The 14.55km test is again split into six separate tests, featuring typically tight and twisty Col roads.

The drops are huge and the margin for error small, making a drive through Briançonnet a test of skill and bravery. Again, as with Fafe, graphical issues abound, but Briançonnet feels very Monte (speaking as someone who’s been glued to the live Rally.TV broadcast of the event all weekend).

The sheer cliffs and spectacular views plop you right into the action, with the slightly washed-out colour palette mimicking crisp, mountain winters. It’s perhaps my favourite of the game’s Monte stages, with technical hairpins breaking up a blend of high and low-speed technical sections.

La Vie de l’Auto

EA and Codemasters have released an impressive six cars with the Le Maestros Content Pack, including a couple of real WRC game-changers.

Citroën Xsara Kit Car

The front-wheel-drive F2 Citroën Xsara Kit Car caused a political storm when it competed in the WRC in 1999, as it was able to take on and beat its four-wheel-drive opponents; Philip Bugalski winning both Rallye Catalunya and the Tour de Corse.

This prompted a manufacturer backlash, and the F2 class was promptly stymied by weight penalties the following season.

In-game, the Xsara drives much like WRC’s other Kit Car protagonists; you can carry tremendous speed through corners and brake obscenely late, but it’s prone to understeer when throttling up too soon.

The screaming two-litre engine makes up for it though, and it soon becomes apparent why the F2 cars were such a thorn in the side of the fire-spitting WRC machines, with the Citroën the fastest of all.

Rather unrealistically, EA/Codemasters used some promotion shots of the Citroën driving on gravel, something rarely (if ever) seen in real rallying, so stick to asphalt stages for maximum enjoyment.

Citroën C3 WRC

The Citroën C3 WRC was only campaigned between 2017-2019, with Sebastien Ogier’s car – part of the new DLC – only driven by the Frenchman for one season, netting him three wins and a disappointing third in the championship.

It’s the third car in the game’s WRC 2017-2021 class, which unfortunately still misses models from Hyundai and Toyota, and it’s probably the plainest looking of all, which won’t get casual players’ rally juices flowing. 

It drives as expected too, with a choice of two liveries allowing you to unleash your inner, Mexican car park-bothering, Kris Meeke.

Citroën DS3 WRC

The French manufacturer’s DS3 WRC was much more successful, with its 2011 debut netting a championship for Sebastien Loeb, who was run close by his teammate Ogier. 

2011 was the year Ogier emerged as rallying’s ‘next big thing’, with Loeb perhaps acknowledging as much by retiring from full-time WRC competition at the end of that year.

It feels much nimbler than the C3 (it’s much smaller and lighter) but produces around 100 bhp less and has fewer trick aerodynamic and mechanical parts, so it’s a slower package overall.

Volkswagen Polo R WRC

The Volkswagen Polo R WRC was the car that propelled Sebastien Ogier into rally superstardom, helping the 10-time Monte Carlo Rally winner claim four back-to-back championships.

The cover star of DiRT Rally, the VW matched reliability with pace, meaning Ogier would more often than not show his teammates, Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen, a clean pair of Michelin-shod heels. 

Sadly, the 2016 car would be the last we’d see of VW in top-tier rallying, as it pulled out of the WRC despite extensively developing its 2017 challenger (happily included in WRC). The Wolfsburg-based firm did at least go on to produce the Polo GTI R5 contender, however.

Front-wheel-drive underdogs 

The Citroën C2 R2 Max and Peugeot 206 S1600 are lightweight, front-wheel-drive rally cars designed to teach younger drivers the art of rallying. 

The C2 formed the base of the noughties’ rally pyramid, with Super 2000 and WRC at its peak. With a rev limit soaring past 8,000 and nearly 200 bhp on tap, the little R4 class Citroën is the very definition of a ‘pocket rocket’. It’s insanely chuckable in WRC (as you’d expect) and can be thrown into most corners at top speed.

To underline its abilities, Sebastien Ogier took the car to the Ulster International Rally in 2008 and wiped the floor with his class rivals, finishing more than eight minutes ahead of his nearest C2 R2 Max opponent.

The Peugeot is similarly lithe but possesses slightly more power than the Citroën, sitting in the S1600 class. It drives benignly enough but lacks provenance compared to the other new cars in this DLC (unless you count two outings for Piero Liatti in 2003 and 2004). 

It does have a patriotic Total-sponsored red, white and blue livery, however…

Magic Moments

The French-themed DLC also includes 16 exclusive Moments, allowing fans to relieve memorable scenarios such as the Citroën Xsara Kit Car’s aforementioned 1-2 finish in Corsica and the Citroën C4’s dramatic 1-2-3 in the 2010 edition of Rally Portugal (which feels slightly odd given the absence of any mention of Loeb).

Vive la difference

The Le Maestros Content Pack adds two high-quality stages to WRC and several interesting cars, which crucially have stories to tell.

However, your interest in buying the DLC will hinge on how big a WRC fan you are and how much you’ve enjoyed playing the game thus far. 

There have been no obvious gameplay improvements, no new game modes and EA and Codemasters’ rally title still has many of the same visual foibles as before. So, if you’re put off by this, then it’s perhaps best to (over) steer clear.

But as a hardcore rally fan, and someone whose heart skips a beat taking the Fafe jump flat-out, it’s a ‘oui’ from me.

EA SPORTS WRC Le Maestros Content Pack release date and price

EA SPORTS WRC Le Maestros Content Pack is out on the 28th of January 2025 at 11 am GMT / 12 pm CET, priced at $9.99 / £8.99 / €8,99.

Le Maestros Content Pack car list

F2 Kit Car

• Citroën Xsara Kit Car

S1600

• Peugeot 206 S1600

Rally 4

• Citroën C2 R2 Max

World Rally Championship 2017-2021

• Citroën C3 WRC

World Rally Car 2012-2016

• Citroën DS3 WRC 2012
• Volkswagen Polo R WRC 2013

EA Sports WRC le Maestros Content Pack stage list

• Monte Carlo: Briançonnet-Entrevaux (14.3km)
• Monte Carlo: Entrevaux-Briançonnet (13.7km)
• Monte Carlo: Les Vénières (6.9km)
• Monte Carlo: Parbiou (6.2km)
• Monte Carlo: Le Champ (7.4km)
• Monte Carlo: Pertus (7.4km)
• Portugal: Fafe (11.3km)
• Portugal: Vila Pouca (11km)
• Portugal: Barbosa (5.7km)
• Portugal: Passos (5.5km)
• Portugal: Moreira do Rei (5.5km)
• Portugal: Ruivães (5.5km)

EA Sports WRC le Maestros Content Pack liveries

• Volkswagen Polo R WRC 2013: Sébastien Ogier (2013)
• Citroën C2 R2 Max: “Launch Livery” (2008)
• Citroën C2 S1600: Sébastien Ogier (2008)
• Citroën C3 WRC: “Citroën” (2018)
• Citroën C3 WRC: “Citroën” (2018)
• Citroën C3 WRC: Sébastien Ogier (2019)
• Citroën C4 WRC: “Citroën” (2010)
• Citroën C4 WRC: Sébastien Ogier (2010)
• Citroën DS3 WRC ’12: “Citroën” (2012)
• Citroën DS3 WRC ’12: Sébastien Ogier (2011)
• Citroën Xsara Kit Car: “Citroën” (1999)
• Citroën Xsara WRC: “Citroën” (2005) 
• Citroën Xsara WRC: “Kronos Racing” (2006)
• Ford Fiesta WRC: Sébastien Ogier (2018)
• Peugeot 206 Rally: Gilles Panizzi (2003)

• Peugeot 206 S1600: “Total Livery” (2002)
• ŠKODA Fabia WRC: “Factory Livery” (2003)