Citroën celebrate third manufacturers’ title with pole in China

Citroën Racing have secured their third consecutive manufacturers’ title in the World Touring Car Championship following qualifying, with José María López’s seventh pole position of the season securing them more than enough points to put the title mathematically out of reach for Honda.

Although a foregone conclusion, Citroën have had to wait longer than usual to wrap up their title, thanks to a tougher fight from Honda this season, but also with the French manufacturer having slimmed down to a two-car operation for 2016, with Sébastien Loeb departing the team and joining Peugeot’s World Rallycross and Cross Country Rally World Cup programmes.Citroën

“With this third consecutive FIA WTCC world title, we have achieved our goal and we can end our involvement in the competition with the feeling that we have accomplished what we set out to,” said team principal Yves Matton.

“We are very proud to have won the championship in China, Citroën’s premier global market. We knew that things would be tricky for us in 2016, with just two official cars, regulations that worked against us and rivals that would up their game. The whole team has worked calmly and methodically to get the very most out of the car and the drivers. The SLR team is part of this success too. Alongside José María López and Yvan Muller, Mehdi Bennani and Tom Chilton have brought us invaluable points, particularly in the reverse-grid races.

“Today’s result was really positive for Yvan, who took the points for third place, while his rivals finished much further down. Before we celebrate this new title, Citroën’s 16th, we are going to focus on the races to try and add to our win tally.”