Citroen has confirmed today that 3 times FIA World Touring Car Champion Yvan Muller will partner Sebastian Loeb for thr 2014 and 2015 WTCC seasons.
Yesterday Citroen released a teaser video online that showed Muller testing the Citroen C-Elysee at the Paul Ricard track just before the two Argentinian WTCC races.
This lineup shows how serious Citroen is about winning the WTCC Titles in the next 2 seasons. Allied with the new regulations coming into effect next year, I'm expecting the french marque to hit the ground running and give both Honda and Lada.
Citroen have said they will run a 3 car operation next year and there are rumours that former F1 driver Robert Kubica could take part in a limited programme of WTCC rounds next year.
Citroen confirmed during this year Porto WTCC Event that they were looking to sign either of the top 3 drivers from last years championship title fight: Rob Huff, Yvan Muller and Alain Menu. Of those three drivers, Menu and Muller have tested now for Citroen.
What this also means is that Honda and Lada will need to make sure they are prepared for 2014. Citroen have won many FIA World Rally Championship titles and will pour their resources into winning their first FIA WTCC Titles. With the expertise Muller brings and the talent of Loeb, whilst this puts Citroen in a strong position, this also opens up the driver market.
Drivers such as Huff, Menu, Oriola, Nykjaer, Coronel... hell even Rickard Rydell are out there, all with recent WTCC experience and all fast drivers capable of taking wins in good cars or testing cars and making them winners.
The buildup to the 2014 World Touring Car Championship is gathering pace...
Cheers
Phil!
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