Loeb is testing Formula One car
Fresh from getting out of his Citroen C4 WRC at the end of Rally Japan, newly-crowned five-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb was handed a fantastic prize for his title by Red Bull, Citroen Sport’s partner. Red Bull Racing will give the Frenchman a chance to test one of its RB4s at the official Formula 1 test session on 17 November in Barcelona. Beforehand, Sébastien will go to the team’s headquarters in Milton Keynes to meet Red Bull Racing and prepare for the 17th. He will make his first acquaintance with the car during a preliminary test at the Silverstone circuit. Sébastien Loeb is already eagerly anticipating this amazing experience: “ I’m absolutely delighted by this present from Red Bull to celebrate my fifth World Rally Championship title. I already got the chance to test a Formula 1 car last year, but this time the circumstances will be a little different. I’m now going to find myself in the midst of all the regular F1 drivers during an official test. I just hope that I don’t make a fool of myself! On the other hand, it’s only for one day. I’d like to clear up any speculation about me possibly switching to F1…next year I’m definitely going to be driving a Citroen”.

And is testing a Le Mans prototype
On November 27, Groupe PSA Peugeot Citroën's two sporting departments will travel to the Paul Ricard facilities at Le Castellet, in the south of France, for an unprecedented gathering of two outstanding drivers and two equally exceptional cars. The morning will see Stéphane Sarrazin, the spearhead of Peugeot Sport's endurance programme, sample the Citroën C4 WRC usually driven by Sébastien Loeb who recently claimed his fifth World Rally Championship Drivers' title. Following this session, which will take in gravel tracks in the immediate vicinity of the French venue, it will be the Citroën Sport driver's turn to get behind the wheel of the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP in the course of the afternoon. Sébastien and Stéphane, who have respectively visited the headquarters of Peugeot Sport and Citroën Sport to have their seats made, admit that they are very much looking forward to trying the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP and the Citroën C4 WRC which are both unique machines

Britain is Ogier's Big Chance
Citroen Sport team director Olivier Quesnel has stated that the Wales Rally GB will be Ogier's big chance to impress. "It is his first chance to show how good he is", Quesnel said in Japan. "We do not know how good he really is. I know he is the new Junior champion but the Junior championship (JWRC) is not at such a high level this year, and Sebastien does not have much experience. He has only made 32 or so rallies in his career, and more than half have been in little Peugeot cars". Meanwhile this weekend Sebastien Ogier will drive a C2R2 car in the Rallye de Condroz the last round of the Belgian Rally Championship.

Future of Citroen Sport
While Citroen Sport has already confirmed its involvement in 2009 with his mainstream Manufacturer's (M) team, Quesnel has confirmed he is moving forward to planning a MT (second level) world championship team for 2009. "Money will say who will have the chance to rally the C4 WRC cars in future. We should be announce our other plans before Wales Rally GB, however". A few day ago a report in the l'Equipe, the French sporting daily newspaper, was an ultimatum from Gilles Michel, Executive Vice President of Automobiles Citroen. Speaking about their plans for Citroen Sport at the end of their contracted responsibilities in the world championship after 2009, he declared: "I say again, we will not make any decisions without assurances on three essential matters. An increased size of competition involving more manufacturers, a much bigger media coverage than at present, and a sporting agenda that corresponds with the interests of manufacturers".

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