Photo: WTCC Media

Yvan Muller says two years spent on Citroën deal

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Current World Touring Car Championship points leader Yvan Muller says his two-year deal with Citroën is the culmination of two years of negotiation with the French manufacturer to enter the WTCC.

Muller, who leaves the RML team after four years with the British-based Chevrolet squad, will join nine-time World Rally champion Sébastien Loeb at Citroën next year as the French manufacturer makes its WTCC debut with the new C-Elysée touring car, built to the new generation of Super 2000 regulations.

“I worked on hard on that,” said Muller to TouringCarTimes about his Citroën deal. “First to convince Sébastian to come, then to convince Citroën to come, and then to convince them to take me, so it’s been a two-year job.”

Muller tested the C-Elysée WTCC car at Paul Ricard in late July before being confirmed as the second of the team’s drivers, with Citroën set to announce a third driver early next year.

“The new (test) car is quite different than the actual new rules, but it’s in the right direction,” said Muller. “The car will be fast and more sexy to watch…the (car) is ready, but the team doesn’t have any experience in the WTCC so they’ll need a bit more time. You can’t buy experience, it comes with time,” he added.

“All the engineers they know the strategy for the stage, the recce, but for here, it’s very different, so they’ll have to learn all these things, it’ll be quite challenging.”

Muller, also a ten-time Trophée Andros Ice Racing champion, has had previous spells in the World Rally Championship, driving in the WRC France event in recent years, and has previously indicated he would like to look at the new FIA World Rallycross Championship as a possible future career, but following his deal to continue in the WTCC with Citroën, he says plans to do more Rally or Rallycross driving are on hold for the moment.

“At the moment I’m focussed on WTCC, I even cancelled the project to do the French rally this year as it would take too much of my time, as well as finishing this season and doing the development with the Citroën, so I’m focussed on the circuit.”