Citroen wants more WTCC competition

Dominant World Touring Car Championship marque Citroen would be happy to face more competition in the series, according to PSA Peugeot Citroen chairman Carlos Tavares.

Citroen C-Elysees have won all but two of the WTCC races this year as Honda continues to struggle to get its Civic on the pace, especially when carrying the maximum compensation weight.

Chevrolet Cruzes supplied by RML compete as independents, and only two – Hugo Valente and Tom Chilton – have invested in the latest specification. Lada also enters as a manufacturer but its latest Vesta is yet to develop into a winner.

"Of course we will welcome any other brands, any other OEMs that would be willing to come to this championship," Tavares told AUTOSPORT. "It's a great series and we love to be here.

"Of course at the same time, given the results that our team is achieving, we would love to have more brands [to race against] but that's outside our control. I think we should be respectful of our competitors and not underevaluate what they are doing.

"They are progressing very well; the only thing is that we are progressing, too. We are not static and defensive, we are offensive."

At least two other manufacturers are known to be evaluating entries into the WTCC, with representatives from Kia present in the paddock at the Slovakia Ring last month. However, series boss Francois Ribeiro is not expecting a sudden influx of entrants.

"Nobody is rushing in to this," he said. "Nobody wants to be in Honda's situation."

Development of the latest TC1 Civic was delayed right from the start, after one of the race cars was destroyed in Morocco last year, forcing the works team to press the test car into service.

Citroen CEO Linda Carter told AUTOSPORT last week that the firm would drop its works participation in either the WTCC or World Rally Championship after 2016.

Originally on Autosport.com