Ostberg to defend WRC 2 title with Citroen
Mads Ostberg has secured a return to the World Rally Championship’s top Rally2 category, continuing his partnership with Citroen Racing. Ostberg and Torstein Eriksen will be hoping to successfully defend their WRC 2 title which they claimed courtesy of four class wins last year.
The Norwegian pairing will compete in the upgraded Citroen C3 Rally2. Through seven technical upgrades, the French manufacturer has sought to improve the C3’s performance, running costs, and driveability following its R5-Rally2 move.
Ostberg will compete on seven WRC rounds, a full WRC 2 championship, the exact details of which are still to be confirmed. He is also set to compete in Hungary’s National Rally Championship with Citroen in 2021.
“Obviously, I’m very happy to be able to continue all the work done with Citroën Racing,” said Ostberg. “We have got to know each other well over the years and the world title won in 2020 clearly illustrates just how effective our working relationship is.
“I was heavily involved in the development of the C3 Rally2 and I’m proud to be able to drive it in the upper reaches of world rallying.
“Defending the title with a new team is going to be a big challenge.
“We have worked a lot with Citroën Racing and TRT to put together this programme and it took a while to reach a decision.
“I’m convinced we have found the right solution to reach our goals.”
The news comes two rounds into the latest WRC 2 season. Andreas Mikkelsen and Esapekka Lappi have claimed a win each on Rally Monte-Carlo and Arctic Rally Finland respectively.
Photos courtesy of Citroen Racing