Four rounds for number one Loeb

Nine-time title winners Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena will contest four rounds of next year’s FIA World Rally Championship with the Citroen Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team.

They will carry the number one on their Citroen DS3 WRC and will be nominated to score manufacturers’ championship points on their quartet of events, which will include Rallye Monte-Carlo, Rally Sweden, Rallye de France Alsace plus one further event to be announced.

Citroen has confirmed the coveted number one will not be used when Loeb and Elena are not in action.

“We’ll start the season in Monte-Carlo and we’ll also be competing in Sweden, because it’s a rally that I would love to win in normal racing conditions,” said Loeb, who triumphed there in 2004 albeit in slightly fortuitous circumstances. “And I couldn‘t begin to think about missing the Rallye de France.”

Mikko Hirvonen and co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen will contest all 13 rounds, while Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio will take part on at least 11 events and will be nominated for makes’ points when Loeb and Elena are not competing.

Khalid Al-Qassimi’s programme will begin on round two in Sweden and will consist of eight events alongside the Emirati’s Middle East campaign in a Citroen DS3 RRC.