Citroën World Touring Car Championship ‘rookies’ Sébastien Loeb and José María López head to Marrakech next week excited for the start of the new season, where Loeb makes his début and López contests only his second weekend in the series.
Nine-time World Rally Champion Loeb makes his début on one of the series most unique circuits – the Marrakech street track, which he admits will be a challenge due to having had no experience there. In addition Loeb admits that whilst he has had plenty of testing he is not looking forward to the extra pressure that comes with starting a race surrounded by all of his rivals – something he has not had to deal with in rallying.
“Generally, I’m quite comfortable on street circuits, like Pau, Baku or Monaco,” said Loeb. “But I haven’t had time to get to know Marrakech… and that won’t be the only new thing I have to get to grips with in the next few days! Even after a full season in GT, I’m still dreading the starts. It’s often very tricky when you’re trying to avoid dropping places on the first few corners…”
Loeb also acknowledged the fact that his Citroën team have had the most preparation for the new season and therefore may have less room to improve as the season progresses.
“At the moment, the one thing I am sure about is the car, the Citroën C-Elysée WTCC,” added Loeb. “I know that we have done some good work on it and I’ve got a good feeling at the wheel. We may have got a head start on the competition in terms of development, but we also have less room for improvement than the teams that have only started their testing in the last few weeks. Like everyone, I’m feeling really motivated for the start of the season.”
Argentine López admits that after such an extensive testing programme he is finally looking forward to getting on track with his rivals.
“Testing is a really interesting part of our preparation, but I am glad to be going into the first meeting,” admitted López. “We’ll get out on the track with our rivals and finally see if the work we have done pays off.”
Unlike Loeb, López admits that street circuits are not his favourite type of venue. However the 30-year-old adds that due to having raced in the Argentine TC 2000 championship he has good experience of the style of racing street circuits usually provide.
“I’ve already raced on quite a few street circuits – we’ve got a few in Argentina,” added López. “It’s not my favourite style of race, but I think it’s a really positive thing to bring motorsport closer to the people. The circuit seems quite unusual, with high-speed chicanes and steep rumble strips, but we’ll see exactly what it’s like when we come to drive on it.
“The start of a season is always a special time, and this excitement is shared by the whole team. We are competitors, and we all want to make a good start and leave Marrakech in a good position in the championship!”