Citroen Racing has pulled the plug on its FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) 2020 campaign due to Sebastien Ogier’s departure.
Following the speculation of Citroen leaving WRC after the 2019 season, the news has been now confirmed by the French manufacturer on Wednesday, as it also announces the departure of Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia from the team.
With Ott Tanak moving to Hyundai Motorsport from 2020 WRC season, reports circulated of Ogier switching to Toyota to lead the Japanese manufacturer’s charge. Although the Frenchman’s switch hasn’t been confirmed but he will not race for Citroen.
The team had a two-year agreement to race two C3 WRC cars for Ogier and Esapekka Lappi with co-driver Janne Ferm, but with the decision of their marquee driver to leave the team, left it with no option but to pull out of the championship.
Instead of a full-on WRC programme, the PSA Motorsport will devote its time to build on the Citroen’s customer progamme with the C3 R5 and also work towards the electrified models, they are planning to produce from 2020 onward.
Linda Jackson, Citroen CEO, said: Our decision to withdraw from WRC programme as early as end of 2019 follows on Sebastien Ogier’s choice to leave Citroen Racing. We obviously have not wished this situation but we could not imagine 2020 season without Sebastien.
“I would like to thank Citroen Racing team for their passion and commitment. A part of Citroen’s DNA is intimately linked with the rally and were proud to be one the most titled brands in WRC History with 102 victories and 8 manufacturer titles.”
PSA Motorsport’s Jean Marc Finot, added: “Thanks to our matrix organisation, our experts who are passionate about motor sport will be able to demonstrate their talent in the sporting disciplines of the championships in which the brands of Groupe PSA are involved.”
Here’s the story of Ott Tanak moving to Hyundai