17 Dec 2011

Al-Attiyah joins Citroen

11:49 am on 17 December 2011

The Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyah is joining eight-times world rally champion Sebastien Loeb and Finn Mikko Hirvonen at Citroen next season.

The 40-year-old Qatari will miss the season-opening Monte Carlo rally in January when he defends his Dakar Rally title but will be available for the Rally of Sweden in February.

Al-Attiyah will have a busy year because he also plans to compete at the London Olympics in clay pigeon shooting.

Citroen have already entered two DS3 cars for next season with Loeb hoping to retain his world crown alongside Hirvonen, who was his closest rival this year before becoming his team mate after leaving Ford to replace Frenchman Sebastien Ogier.

Citroen say Al-Attiyah and co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini will have an identical car to Loeb and Hirvonen.

Al-Attiyah joins a Citroen team who won their fourth consecutive manufacturers crown this year with Frenchman Loeb extending his record run with an eighth straight world title.