Yvan Muller turned down offers for 2017, saying “it’s the right moment” to stop

Yvan Muller will end his 11 year career in the World Touring Car Championship this weekend at Citroën, with the four-time champion admitting he had offers on the table for 2017, but felt this was the right time to stop racing.

The 47-year-old is on course to finish second in the drivers’ championship this weekend barring disaster in what he admits is an emotional last race for Citroën Racing, his third season with the team.

“It’s a special weekend,” said Muller to TouringCarTimes. “For the first time, when I jump in the car, I’m thinking to myself this is one of the last times I will jump in this car. This is the first time I’ve felt like this for 37 years. But I feel good with that. It’s the right moment to do it.”

The Frenchman said he had options for next year, but came to the decision himself to stop racing some months ago.

“I had some proposals for next year, but I decided myself,” he added. “I always wanted to decide at the end of my career when to stop. I won’t say I will never race again forever, but I don’t want to do any more full seasons as a race driver at a level like it is here.”

The 48-time WTCC race winner added that the state of the championship isn’t a concern, despite only two manufacturers having committed for next season, drawing comparisons to changing tides to the FIA sister World Rally Championship.

“Everything is cyclical,” said Muller. “The fact that Citroën is pulling out doesn’t help, but it’s still a world championship. OK, there are only two manufacturers for 2017, but we never know for the future. We have to stay positive. In WRC it was not much better a few years ago. There were plenty of years where only 7-8 cars were doing the full season, OK you don’t see it because it’s not happening on a grid, but it still happened, so why can’t the WTCC do it?”