François Ribeiro sure Volvo will be competitive very soon

François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events, was present at the launch of the new Volvo S60 Polestar TC1. TouringCarTimes discussed several subjects with him, starting from when did Volvo start showing interest in the championship.

“We started in 2005!,” said Ribeiro. “Frankly Volvo have been the most consistent manufacturer in trying to get to the WTCC grid, but the brand has gone through ownership changes, management changes and so on, so every time they had an obstacle. However, when we started studies for the TC1 rules, Volvo were there from day 1, so the interest was always there. It’s great we are finally to the day in which Volvo will enter the grid!”

When asked about the new MAC3 concept, Ribeiro was clear Volvo will not be allowed in the format: “They asked me yesterday and I was very clear, it is MAC3, not MAC2, so they will have to wait until they have a third car on the grid to enter the competition.”

When asked about the future of the Volvo programme including independents, Ribeiro said they need to prove they are fast first: “If they want to have a satellite team or sell second hand cars to teams I am absolutely happy about it. First they have to build up their manufacturer team and prove to be competitive, because now there is no doubt everybody wants to buy a Citroën, it’s the fastest and most reliable car on the grid at the moment. Before you get to that point you need to win first, so that is my view about that.”

When asked about more new entrants, Ribeiro said he is sure Volvo will be the only new manufacturer for 2016: “There are two more brands looking very seriously into the WTCC, but Volvo were also very serious about it and still it took them several years to enter. I think the pattern includes at least one year of design phase, so we will not have any more new manufacturers next year, otherwise I would know already. Hopefully something will come out in the next couple of years.”

With Volvo looking very serious about their challenge for the WTCC, Ribeiro reflected on the possibility of the Swedish manufacturer reaching the level of Citroën, demonstrating how the French cars can be beaten: “If you look at the car market, they are always in competition with other manufacturers. Racing cars is another form of competition, and if manufacturer are scared of competing they can stay home and work with their dealers network. Of course the WTCC is a tough environment, in the sense that the level has gone up in the last two years, both technically and on a sporting level, so if you want to compete you need to do it at the maximum level. Just ask Honda and Lada.”

Ribeiro trusts Volvo will be competitive very soon: “I think Volvo have the right setup to be competitive, as they design all the components under the same roof. I’m positive that because they spent the proper amount of time in designing and testing the car they will be competitive. I am not saying it will be a winning car, but for sure they know what it takes to be competitive in the WTCC, I don’t think they underestimated it, and it’s the first step to be competitive. Volvo will make the level higher.”

François Ribeiro also revealed that the TC1 rules will stay on for a very long time, thus creating a stable platform for new manufacturers to develop their cars: “This set of rules will be very stable. At the end of 2016 manufacturers will be able to homologate new cars, but the rules will stay the same. We might see Honda going for a three volume car, it could be RML going for the new Cruze or Citroën choosing a new model compared to the current C-Elysée. Normally the cycle of the set of rules is about ten years, we are only in the second season of the current TC1 cars, so there is a long way to go.”

Volvo are the fifth manufacturer entering the FIA World Touring Car Championship, joining Citroën, Honda, Lada and RML with the privately-developed Chevrolet Cruzes.