Photo: Citroën Racing

Ma Qing Hua set to join Sébastien Loeb Racing for 2015

Chinese driver Ma Qing Hua is likely to step up to a full time race seat in 2015, with the 26-year-old expected to join the newest team to the WTCC, Sébastien Loeb Racing, driving one of the team’s two Citroën C-Elysée WTCCs as a privateer entry.

Ma, who became the first Chinese driver to win an FIA World Championship race at the Moscow Raceway this season, is expected to step up to a full campaign with support from Citroën China, after competing in five rounds of the 2014 WTCC at Moscow, Spa-Francorchamps, Beijing, Shanghai & Macau this year.

On next year’s programme, Citroën Racing Team Principal Yves Matton told TouringCarTimes:
“Three will be run by Citroën Racing, for Yvan (Muller), Sébsatien (Loeb) and Pechito (José María López), and then two cars will be run by SLR. One will be for Ma Qing Hua, we are in the final negotiations with Citroen China to finalise the deal for next year to let him drive in the full championship after his good results this year, and the fifth car for a customer.”

The other SLR car is expected to be for Mehdi Bennani, with the Shanghai race two winner moving across from the Proteam Racing privateer Honda team, though this is also yet to be confirmed. This would complete SLR’s driver line-up with a Moroccan and a Chinese driver competing for the French marque, with those countries both key markets for the manufacturer.

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