Nasser Al-Attiyah says finally being able to conclude his deal to drive for Citroen in next years World Rally Championship is akin to achieving a dream.Al-Attiyah, Production Car world champion in 2006, first spoke publicly of plans to drive for the French firm in next year’s WRC back in August. Due to his participation on the Dakar Rally, which clashes with Rallye Monte-Carlo, Al-Attiyah will begin his Citroen career on Rally Sweden in February.
The 40-year-old will pilot a DS3 WRC identical to those driven by his new team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Sebastien Loeb. He will bring support from the government of his native Qatar and will be co-driven by Italian Giovanni Bernacchini.
“I’m very happy to fulfill what’s been both a dream and a sporting objective,” said Al-Attiyah. “We’ve done a lot of work on this project in the past few months and I’d like to thank [manager] Raouf Menhem for his involvement alongside me. I can’t wait to get to know the team better and to test the DS3 WRC.”
Al-Attiyah, who will combine his WRC campaign with his preparation for the London 2012 Olympic Games where he will represent his country in shooting, has yet to set any targets for the season ahead.
“It’s still a bit early to fix myself objectives as I’m counting on acquiring experience not only with the engineering squad, but also with drivers as talented as Sebastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen,” said Al-Attiyah. “I think I’ll be able to score good results in the toughest rallies like Greece, for example.”
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