The Citroën Junior Team was a
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...
team that competed in the
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
,
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
and
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives
*International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
seasons. It was established as a second team for the
Citroën
Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...
brand and was presented as a vehicle to develop young talent.
The team was also the flagship WRC team for
Citroën Racing's customer racing department, Citroën Racing Technologies (CRT), which was in existence between 2007 and 2012. As with all of CRT's customer privateers and team, the Citroën Junior Team was run on events by third-party preparation firm
PH Sport.
History
Background
PH Sport and Citroën Sport Technologies ran semi-privateer
Citroën C4 WRC
The Citroën C4 WRC is a World Rally Car built for the Citroën World Rally Team by Citroën Racing to compete in the World Rally Championship. It is based upon the Citroën C4 road car and replaced the Citroën Xsara WRC. The car was introduced ...
s for
Conrad Rautenbach
Conrad Rautenbach (born 12 November 1984) is a rally driver from Zimbabwe who competed in the World Rally Championship for the Citroën Junior Team along with his co-driver Daniel Barritt. He won the African Rally Championship twice, in 200 ...
and
Urmo Aava during the
2008 World Rally Championship season
The 2008 World Rally Championship was the 36th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of 15 rallies and began on 24 January, with the 2008 Monte Carlo Rally.
Frenchman Sébastien Loeb successfully retained the Drivers ...
.
2009

The Citroën Junior Team was formed in 2009 following the withdrawal of manufacturers
Subaru
is the automaker, automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate (company), conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the Automotive industry#By manufacturer, twenty-first largest aut ...
and
Suzuki
is a Japanese multinational mobility manufacturer headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shizuoka. It manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a va ...
. It ran Citroën C4s for Russian
Evgeny Novikov
Evgeny Maksimovich Novikov (; born 19 September 1990) is a Russian former rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship from 2007 to 2013.
Career
Born in Moscow, Novikov won the Russian Rally Cup in 2006 and finished runner-up ...
, Zimbabwean
Conrad Rautenbach
Conrad Rautenbach (born 12 November 1984) is a rally driver from Zimbabwe who competed in the World Rally Championship for the Citroën Junior Team along with his co-driver Daniel Barritt. He won the African Rally Championship twice, in 200 ...
and
Junior World Rally Championship
The FIA Junior WRC Championship is an international rallying series restricted to drivers under 29 years old, running within the framework of the World Rally Championship. The series is governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobi ...
champion
Sébastien Ogier
Sébastien Eugène Emile Ogier (; born 17 December 1983) is a French Rallying, rally driver, competing for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team in the World Rally Championship (WRC). He is currently teamed with co-driver Vincent Landais. He has won 8 List ...
. It ran former Subaru driver
Chris Atkinson
Christopher James Atkinson (born 30 November 1979 in Bega, New South Wales, Australia) is a professional rally driver. In the World Rally Championship (WRC), Atkinson drove for the Subaru World Rally Team between 2004 and 2008. His best finis ...
rather than Novikov on the season-opening
Rally Ireland
Rally Ireland was added to the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar in 2007 World Rally Championship season, 2007. It was not part of the 2008 World Rally Championship season, 2008 schedule, ...
, although despite a good performance, the Australian did not feature in the team again.
Petter Solberg
Petter Solberg (born 18 November 1974), nicknamed "Mr. Hollywood" is a Norwegian former professional rallying, rally and rallycross driver.
Solberg debuted in the World Rally Championship in 1998 and was signed by the Ford World Rally Team, For ...
was nominated to score manufacturer points for the team at
Rally GB
Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932. It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) cal ...
. Solberg finished fourth there, with another driver of Citroën Junior Team
Aaron Burkart finishing 12th in his first WRC rally with WRC car.
2010
On 4 December 2009, it was announced that
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
World Champion
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "the Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One ...
would drive for the Junior Team for his switch to rallying.
Kimi Raikkonen signs with Citröen junior rally team
AUSmotive.com, 4 December 2009 Räikkönen's co-driver would be Kaj Lindström who had partnered multiple world champion Tommi Mäkinen
Tommi Antero Mäkinen (; born 26 June 1964) is a Finnish racing executive and former rally driver.
Mäkinen is one of the most successful World Rally drivers of all time, ranking fifth in rally wins (24) and third in championships (4), tied wit ...
in the past, while Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia were in a second car for the Junior Team.
Räikkönen and Lindström contested 12 out of the 13 rounds in the 2010 WRC season, missing only the Rally of New Zealand. They did not start at 2010 Rally Catalunya because of a crash at the pre-event shakedown.
Sébastien Ogier claimed Citroën Junior Team's best result, winning at 2010 Rally de Portugal
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
. Because of his strong finishes he was promoted to Citroën World Rally Team
The Citroën Total World Rally Team was the Citroën factory backed entry into the World Rally Championship (WRC), run by Citroën Racing.
History
Background
In 1998, following its withdrawal from Rally raid competition, Citroën Sport bega ...
for gravel rallies (Finland, Japan, Wales) while Dani Sordo
Daniel "Dani" Sordo Castillo (born 2 May 1983) is a Spanish rally driver. He competes in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Motorsport. He achieved his first WRC victory at the 2013 Rallye Deutschland.
Career
Sordo began in motocross whe ...
switched to Citroën Junior Team for those rallies. The best result for Kimi Räikkönen was 5th place at 2010 Rally of Turkey
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
.
2011
The 'Junior Team' banner was dropped for 2011 as Ogier was promoted to the Citroën World Rally Team
The Citroën Total World Rally Team was the Citroën factory backed entry into the World Rally Championship (WRC), run by Citroën Racing.
History
Background
In 1998, following its withdrawal from Rally raid competition, Citroën Sport bega ...
. A change in WRC regulations allowed customers of Citroën Racing Technologies to each enter in their own teams with just one car. Petter Solberg
Petter Solberg (born 18 November 1974), nicknamed "Mr. Hollywood" is a Norwegian former professional rallying, rally and rallycross driver.
Solberg debuted in the World Rally Championship in 1998 and was signed by the Ford World Rally Team, For ...
, Peter van Merksteijn Jr. and Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "the Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One ...
entered this way in 2011, still using cars from CRT and operated on event by PH Sport.
2012
The Junior Team name was revived as Thierry Neuville
Thierry Jean Neuville ( ; born 16 June 1988) is a Belgian rally driver who is competing in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Motorsport. During his career, he has finished as runner-up five times (2013, 2016–2019) and achieved his maiden ...
entered the WRC in a one-car team after a successful two-year campaign in IRC
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a text-based chat system for instant messaging. IRC is designed for group communication in discussion forums, called '' channels'', but also allows one-on-one communication via private messages as well as chat ...
with Peugeot 207 S2000
The Peugeot 207 S2000 is a Super 2000 rally car developed by Peugeot Sport. It is based upon the Peugeot 207 road car. Drivers Enrique García Ojeda, Nicolas Vouilloz and Kris Meeke won the Intercontinental Rally Challenge
The Intercontinental ...
run by Peugeot BelLux. His best result was fourth at the Rally de France Alsace and he finished the season in seventh position.
2013–
The Citroën Racing Technologies name disappeared after 2012 as Citroën Racing's customer offerings focused on its new DS3 Regional Rally Car, R5, R3T and R1 cars rather than World Rally Cars. No privateer teams contested the WRC manufacturers' championship again in Citroën World Rally Cars, perhaps arguably with the exception of the Abu Dhabi Total World Rally Team in 2016, which was the existing Citroën World Rally Team without an official manufacturer entry, entered again through PH Sport.
WRC Results
Gallery
File:Evgeny Novikov - 2009 Cyprus Rally.jpg, Evgeny Novikov
Evgeny Maksimovich Novikov (; born 19 September 1990) is a Russian former rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship from 2007 to 2013.
Career
Born in Moscow, Novikov won the Russian Rally Cup in 2006 and finished runner-up ...
driving a Citroën Junior Team-run Citroën C4 WRC
The Citroën C4 WRC is a World Rally Car built for the Citroën World Rally Team by Citroën Racing to compete in the World Rally Championship. It is based upon the Citroën C4 road car and replaced the Citroën Xsara WRC. The car was introduced ...
at the 2009 Cyprus Rally
File:Sébastien Ogier - 2009 Rally Australia.jpg, Sébastien Ogier
Sébastien Eugène Emile Ogier (; born 17 December 1983) is a French Rallying, rally driver, competing for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team in the World Rally Championship (WRC). He is currently teamed with co-driver Vincent Landais. He has won 8 List ...
at the 2009 Rally Australia
File:Rally Finland 2010 - shakedown - Dani Sordo 1.jpg, Dani Sordo
Daniel "Dani" Sordo Castillo (born 2 May 1983) is a Spanish rally driver. He competes in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Motorsport. He achieved his first WRC victory at the 2013 Rallye Deutschland.
Career
Sordo began in motocross whe ...
during his first rally for Citroën Junior Team at 2010 Rally Finland
The 2010 Neste Oil Rally Finland was the 60th Rally Finland and the eighth round of the 2010 World Rally Championship season. The rally took place over July 29–31, and is based in Jyväskylä, the capital of the Central Finland region. The rally ...
.
File:Kimi raikkonen IMG 3305.JPG, Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "the Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One ...
at the 2010 Rally Bulgaria
The 2010 Rally Bulgaria was the seventh round of the 2010 World Rally Championship season. The rally took place over July 9–11, and was based in Borovets, around outside the capital city, Sofia. The rally was also the third round of the Junior W ...
See also
*Citroën Racing
Citroën Racing is a motorsport brand and department of the French automobile manufacturer, Citroën, ''Automobiles Citroën''. It is most notable for entering the Citroën World Rally Team into the World Rally Championship until 2019, thus helpi ...
*Citroën World Rally Team
The Citroën Total World Rally Team was the Citroën factory backed entry into the World Rally Championship (WRC), run by Citroën Racing.
History
Background
In 1998, following its withdrawal from Rally raid competition, Citroën Sport bega ...
* Qatar World Rally Team
*ICE 1 Racing
ICE 1 Racing was a team competing in the World Rally Championship with Finnish driver Kimi Räikkönen. The team was based at Citroën Racing's headquarters in Versailles, France.
Formula One World Champion Räikkönen drove for the Citroën ...
* Petter Solberg World Rally Team
* Van Merksteijn Motorsport
* PH Sport
Notes
References
External links
Citroën Racing homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Citroen Junior Team
Citroën
World Rally Championship teams
Intercontinental Rally Challenge teams
European Rally Championship teams
French auto racing teams