Tarquini: Citroën has done an excellent job

At a first glance it may looks as a ‘Veni, vidi, vici’ (I came, I saw, I won), to quote Julius Ceasar’s famous words when he won the battle of Zela, but reality is different.

What Citroën did, claiming the Manufacturers’ Championship and ‘booking’ the Drivers’ one on their maiden WTCC season, is certainly not common.

There were little doubts that the French car maker would do well, after winning sixteen FIA WRC titles (nine for Drivers and seven for Manufacturers). Still, changing motorsport discipline and winning straight away in a completely different category remains a very unusual achievement that very few manufacturers can claim.

Citroën’s debut in the FIA WTCC has been outstanding, as emphasized by some insiders’ comments, to whom we asked to give their expert perspective on the reasons behind the success of the French constructor.

Gabriele Tarquini, 2009 WTCC champion: ”Citroën has done an excellent job. They proved that they faced this new challenge with the right resources, the right team members and the right drivers. While it is sure they started earlier than the competition with the new TC1 challenge, their achievement has a lot of merit. They didn’t simply looked at the WTCC standards as they were, but they took the approach of doing things as they thought they should be done, based on their experience and knowledge in the WRC. In doing so, they raised the bar and is now up to all the others to close the gap.”

Rob Huff, 2012 WTCC champion: “What Citroën has achieved in their first season in the WTCC, without any experience in touring cars, is simply impressive. They prepared well and did not come to be second, but they also raised the championship level to new heights. It shows even in the pitlane, when you see the level of attention and concentration everybody in the team has in his and her face. I am not surprised, as everything they have done in motorsports in the last fifteen years or so has been to the highest standards.”

Stuart Cowie, RML: “One could say that Citroën’s success is the result of investments and resources, but that would be too easy. Money cannot buy everything and certainly not competence, professionalism and leadership. They have all that, and they proved how well they operate to be where they wanted to be. I don’t think that lack of specific experience in a category is an issue in motorsports. It doesn’t matter where you come from, F1, WRC or WTCC, the important is to have good people, the right focus and a mind set to succeed. That’s what Citroën has done, shortening much the learning curve, and this is certainly good for the Championship. Like it happened before with Chevrolet and other manufacturers, they have put the bar higher and brought the WTCC forward, and that’s what should happen in any series that has an FIA World Championship label on it.”

Jerôme Bourret, journalist at L’Equipe: “I have seen Citroën operating in WRC for many years and I saw the same approach and qualities applied to the WTCC. Two things always struck me. First, it is a team where there is a perfect mix of older, experienced people and younger ones, bringing new ideas. Everything is always openly discussed, and everyone can contribute, then a synthesis is made. That is definitely one of Citroën’s specificities and strengths. The other is humility, they always do things like if they were starting from scratch, taking care of every detail, never leaving something to chance and always questioning choices. It was very interesting to see how team members behaved at Marrakech, for their first-ever WTCC race, in an unusual environment like a street circuit. Despite the experience and all that, you could see anxiety and concern in everyone’s face. These guys never take anything for granted.”