Citroën Junior Team
| Full name | Citroën Junior Team |
|---|---|
| Base |  Versailles, France |
| Team principal(s) | Benoit Nogier |
| Drivers |  Thierry Neuville |
| Co-drivers | Nicholas Gilsoul |
| Chassis | Citroën DS3 WRC |
| Tyres | Michelin |
| World Rally Championship career | |
| Debut | 2009 |
| Constructors' Championships | 0 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Rally wins | 1 |
The Citroën Junior Team is a World Rally Championship team, which competed in the 2009-2010 and 2012 seasons. It was set up and run as Citroën's secondary team in the World Rally Championship, pitched against the existing Stobart Ford World Rally Team.
The team was run by French preparation firm PH Sport along with Citroën Racing Technologies. It was revived in 2012.[1]
Contents |
History [edit]
Background [edit]
PH Sport and Citroën Sport Technologies ran semi-privateer Citroën C4 WRCs for Conrad Rautenbach and Urmo Aava during the 2008 World Rally Championship season.[2]
2009 [edit]
The Citroën Junior Team team was formed in 2009 following the withdrawal of manufacturers Subaru and Suzuki. It ran Citroën C4s for Russian Evgeny Novikov, Zimbabwean Conrad Rautenbach and Junior World Rally Championship champion Sébastien Ogier. It ran former Subaru driver Chris Atkinson rather than Novikov on the season-opening Rally Ireland, although despite a good performance, the Australian did not feature in the team again. Petter Solberg was nominated to score manufacturer points for the team at Rally GB.[3] Solberg finished fourth there, with another driver of Citroën Junior Team Aaron Burkart finishing 12th in his first WRC rally with WRC car.
2010 [edit]
On 4 December 2009, it was announced that 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen would drive for the Citroën Junior Team for his switch to rallying.[4] Räikkönen's co-driver would be Kaj Lindström who had partnered multiple world champion Tommi Mäkinen in the past, while Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia were in a second car for the Junior Team.
Räikkönen and Lindström contested 12 out of the 13 rounds in the 2010 WRC season, missing only the Rally of New Zealand. They did not start at 2010 Rally Catalunya because of a crash at the pre-event shakedown.
Sébastien Ogier claimed Citroën Junior Team's best result, winning at 2010 Rally de Portugal. Because of his strong finishes he was promoted to Citroën World Rally Team for gravel rallies (Finland, Japan, Wales) while Dani Sordo switched to Citroën Junior Team for those rallies. The best result for Kimi Räikkönen was 5th place at 2010 Rally of Turkey.
2011 [edit]
The 'Junior Team' banner has been dropped for 2011, Citroen Racing Technologies instead focussing the brand's customer efforts on Petter Solberg, Peter van Merksteijn, Jr. and Kimi Räikkönen's privateer campaigns.
2012 [edit]
Thierry Neuville entered the WRC after a successful two-year campaign in IRC with Peugeot 207 S2000 run by Peugeot BelLux. He won famous Rallye San Remo and Tour de Corse in 2011 season. Thierry is going to compete in selected rallies but Citroën Junior Team is not going to compete in the manufacturers championship.
WRC Results [edit]
Gallery [edit]
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Evgeny Novikov driving a Citroën Junior Team-run Citroën C4 WRC at the 2009 Cyprus Rally
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Dani Sordo during his first rally for Citroën Junior Team at 2010 Rally Finland.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "80e RALLYE MONTE CARLO 2012". rallye-magazin.de. 27 December 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
- ^ "Citroen Junior Team Team Profile | WRC". Crash.Net. 2008-12-24. Retrieved 2011-11-27.
- ^ "Solberg joins Citroen's Junior squad for Rally GB". wrc.com. WRC. 21 September 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ^ Kimi Raikkonen signs with Citröen junior rally team AUSmotive.com, 4 December 2009
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