Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier with Citroën Racing in 2011

Ending Ford’s hopes of clinching a 2011 deal with Ogier

By Franck Drui

19 July 2010 - 20:56
Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier (...)

Sébastien Loeb will again compete in the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship with Citroën Racing for which he has driven since 2001. The team has also renewed its confidence in Sébastien Ogier for the next three seasons. Ogier will replace Dani Sordo as Loeb’s team-mate full-time next season.

The 2011 FIA World Rally Championship will mark a turning point in the history of the sport with the arrival of the new generation 4-wheel-drive 1600 cc turbo-powered cars. Having won five Manufacturers’ World Championship titles since 2003, Citroën has decided to stack all the odds in its favour by entering Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier.

Olivier Quesnel (Citroen Racing Team Principal): “Obviously, it’s a double dose of satisfaction for Citroën Racing. Not content to have the greatest set of results in the history of rallying, Sébastien Loeb is still as hungry as ever for more victories and titles. His experience, his race intelligence, and his capacity to get 100% out his cars, will be all the more crucial as we’ll have a new car next season. Citroën Racing has been preparing for the future with Sébastien Ogier for some time now. This is why we wanted to sign a contract with him for the next three seasons. Dani Sordo is still part of our plans for next year, but we
have to finalise our budgets before announcing the full programme.”

Sébastien Loeb: “My contract with Citroën allowed me to stop at the end of this year. But my motivation and my will to win are still as strong as ever! The 2011 season will be my eleventh in the works Citroën colours. I think that the world championship will be a very interesting one, as the arrival of a new generation of cars will reshuffle the cards among the manufacturers. Of course, it’s no secret that we’re already working flat out on the new Citroën DS3, and I can’t wait to see where it stands in relation to its rivals. In the meantime, winning my seventh consecutive world title is my main objective.”

Sébastien Ogier: “I’d like to thank Citroën for renewing its confidence in me, and what’s more, for three seasons! I made my world championship debut with this team, and I’ve always said that my priority was to stay with them. I’m thrilled at the idea of driving the new generation World Rally Cars, and of defending the colours of the make at the topmost level. Like Sébastien, I’m fully concentrated on the end of this season starting with the Finnish Rally, where I’ll be part of the Citroën Total World Rally Team for the first time!”

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