Citron Racing has outlined plans for its future involvement in motorsport in an announcement at the 2012Paris Motor Show. Thanks to the partnership agreed with Abu Dhabi, the seven-time World Championshipwinningteam will continue to compete in rallying, entering three Citron DS3 WRCs in 2013. The works teamwill feature the Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen crew for the entire season. As passionate and quick as ever,Sbastien Loeb/Daniel Elena will join them in a partial racing programme which is due to start at the RallyeMonte-Carlo.
Having competed as a works team in the FIA World Rally Championship since 2001, Citron Racing has amassed oneof the sports greatest competitive records, with seven Manufacturers titles and eight Drivers titles for Sbastien Loeband Daniel Elena. Combined with the renewal and upgrade the Brands product line-up, this period has contributed tothe development of Citrons image and the commercial success it has enjoyed throughout the world.
In these tough economic times, Citron has taken the view that it is essential for it to remain involved in motorsport inorder to support its determined and energetic commercial approach. At the same time, it was equally important to finda way of reducing the Brands financial commitment to the teams operating costs. In this context, we are particularlyproud to welcome Abu Dhabi on board, commented Yves Matton, Citron Racing Team Principal. This partnershipwill provide us with the means of continuing our programme and entering three DS3 WRCs in 2013.
After eightpossibly soon to be nineconsecutive world titles, Sbastien Loeb and Daniel Elena will not be defendingtheir title in 2013. As quick as ever, as proven by the seven wins already racked up this year, the most successful duoin the history of the WRC still love competing, despite now taking this step back. They will therefore be taking part in apartial racing programme next year, starting at the legendary Rallye Monte-Carlo, which opens the 2013 seasonbetween 15th and 20th January.
The team will be spearheaded next year by Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen, who are currently second in the WRCstandings. Mikko and Jarmo have now been totally incorporated into the team, continued Yves Matton. They haveshown they have the level of performance and experience needed to take this final step and become the natural leadersof our outfit. We will be making another announcement in due course about the second crew that will compete in theabsence of Seb and Daniel. A Citron DS3 WRC will also be entrusted to the United Arab Emirates driver Khaleed Al-Qassimi.
In addition to a partial WRC season in 2013, Citron and Sbastien Loeb continue to consider how they will worktogether in the future. Always on the lookout for new challenges, the Brand and its emblematic driver are weighing upthe possibility of entering the FIA World Touring Car Championship (FIA WTCC) in 2014/2015. The role of brandambassador for Citron cannot be a passive one for someone as driven as Sbastien. This project would give him theopportunity to pursue his career in track racing with the support of the manufacturer with which he has worked since hiscompetitive debut. For Citron, the WTCC would enable us to showcase Crative Technologie in major markets, such asChina and Brazil, explained Yves Matton. The final decision regarding this programme is linked to the changes in theFIA regulations and, obviously, the determination of our current and future partners to support us in this project.
Before leaping ahead to this very exciting future, Citron Racing is now going to focus on the Rallye de France-Alsace(4-7 October), round 11 of the 2012 World Rally Championship. The Citron Total World Rally Team can secure itseighth title in Strasbourg, whilst Sbastien Loeb and Daniel Elena have a chance to take their ninth consecutive title.The only crew that can stop them from doing so is no other than Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen!
