Sebastien Loeb has signed a new contract with Citroen that will keep him with the team until the end of 2005.
The Frenchman, who took his maiden WRC win the Monte Carlo this year, has signed a contract extension with the team. The decision will cement Citroen's position as a major player in the sport for the next few seasons. However the decision also has major ramifications for the WRC driver market and may well trigger a bout of hectic negotiations.
In light of the FIA's new ruling for 2004 that prohibits teams running a third car for a driver with a podium finish or better since 2001, the signing of Loeb will force either Carlos Sainz or Colin McRae to find a drive elsewhere. Neither driver, both of whom currently race for Citroen, would be eligible for a third Xsara WRC in 2004, leaving one to run alongside Loeb and another to move on. And now that the rally world is aware that either Sainz or McRae will be forced to move from Citroen next season will likely hold the key to the driver market.
Sainz struggled to secure a seat for this season after being dropped by Ford. The Spaniard has however been very impressive this season and appears at present to be the more likely candidate to stay at Citroen. McRae has been linked with a move back to Subaru where he won his 1995 world title, but that move may be jeopardised by noises coming from the camp of Richard Burns. The 2001 World Champion is also rumoured to be considering returning to Subaru in a bid to finally defeat current team-mate Marcus Gronholm. And with Petter Solberg confirmed with the team for 2004, the team would fall foul of the new FIA ruling by running both McRae and Burns. Another possibility could see Burns return to his favoured Impreza alongside Petter Solberg and McRae to team up with Gronholm in the Peugeot squad but nothing has emerged yet to suggest this could be a possibility.
Of course neither Sainz nor McRae may be kept on by Citroen, introducing another even more complicated permutation into the WRC driver market. But what is not in doubt is that Citroen's decision will spark the rally market into life. Watch this space!
Back to WRC News & Discussion Page
Back to Main Page
Visit
Linksheaven! The Motor Racing Directory
© 2000 motorsportforum@yahoo.co.uk