Solberg stays with Citroen in 2010 [WRC]

12/1/10

Solberg stays with Citroen in 2010

Former World Rally Champion Petter Solberg has confirmed he will drive a Citroen C4 World Rally Car in this year's World Rally Championship.

The decision continues a relationship established last year when Solberg tackled most of the 2009 series in his own privately run Citroen Xsara WRC. He later accepted an offer to drive a Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC on the final two rounds.

Petter Solberg will drive a C4 again in 2010

Solberg: Citroen offer looking best for 2010

Norway's Petter Solberg looks likely to join Kimi Raikkonen as a C4 World Rally Car driver next season, after being made an attractive offer by Citroen.

Solberg, who won the 2003 World Championship with Subaru, tackled most of the 2009 series in a privately entered Xsara WRC, before accepting an offer to drive a Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC for the final two rounds.

With little chance of a manufacturer-funded programme in 2010, Solberg decided to go it alone once again, and try to raise the money himself for a season in a top-level World Rally Car - either a Ford Focus RS WRC or a Citroen C4 WRC.

Kimi Raikkonen to drive with Citroen

Kimi Raikkonen to Citroen - it’s official!

Finland's 2007 Formula One champion Kimi Raikkonen has signed a deal to drive a C4 World Rally Car on 12 rounds of the 2010 World Rally Championship.

This morning's long awaited announcement from Citroen Racing brings an end to weeks of speculation concerning the F1 star's plans for 2010, when he will take a sabbatical from his Grand Prix career.

Raikkonen will drive for Citroen's second squad, the Junior World Rally Team, thanks to backing from Red Bull - one of his personal sponsors from F1. He will be co-driven by fellow Finn Kaj Lindstrom, who previously partnered multiple WRC champion Tommi Makinen. The only rally the pair will miss next year is Rally New Zealand - an event the Junior Team is skipping altogether.

“I always wanted to compete in rally, especially in the World Rally Championship at some point in my career," said Raikkonen. "Thanks to Red Bull, I have the opportunity to drive the best car of the series with the Citroen C4. This is a new but very exciting challenge. For the moment we have a one-year contract and we will see how it goes for the future. I am really looking forward to testing the car and taking the start of the first rally.”

Partnering Raikkonen at the Citroen Junior team in 2010, will be French rising star Sebastien Ogier, 25, who will also drive a Red Bull-backed C4.