Paris Show: Citroën Unleashes DS3 WRC Contender

Joining the world premieres of the MINI Countryman WRC and Ford Fiesta RS WRC at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, is Citroën's all-new contender for the 2011 World Rally Championship, the DS3 WRC in full racing livery.

The French firm's replacement for the multi-championship winning C4 WRC fully complies with the new FIA regulations with power coming from a 300hp 1.6-litre direct-injection turbocharged engine. The car also gets a four-wheel-drive system that incorporates a six-gear sequential gearbox and front and rear mechanical differentials.

"The DS3 WRC is designed to limit the budgets required to compete in the WRC", said Citroën in a statement. "The new FIA rules ban costly materials such as titanium and carbon-fibre, and standardise certain parts like the turbocharger and limit the changes that can be made to the vehicle during its lifetime. Rally nevertheless remains a great testing ground for driving new advances in vehicle technology."

The new DS3 WRC will make racing debut at the Rally Sweden in February 2011. The French firm has already confirmed two teams of the next racing season, Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena and Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia.

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BMW Confirms Return to DTM from 2012 with M3 after 18 Years Hiatus

BMW has officially confirmed its return to the German Touring Car Masters (DTM) starting from 2012, almost two decades since its departure from the series in 1994. The Munich-based marque said it took the decision after the positive nature of discussions in recent months with the DTM umbrella organization ITR e.V. and the other manufacturers represented in the touring car series on issues regarding the future technical regulations, and the long-term internationalization of the championship.

The company said it plans to make its racing comeback to the series with the M3 model as the firm's basic DTM vehicle.

Dr Klaus Draeger, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG with responsibility for development, says: "The return of BMW to the DTM is a fundamental part of the restructuring of our motorsport activities. With its increased commitment to production car racing, BMW is returning to its roots. The race track is the perfect place to demonstrate the impressive sporting characteristics of our vehicles against our core competitors in a high-powered environment. The DTM is the ideal stage on which to do this."

BMW has won the touring car series twice in the past with Eric van de Poele (BE) and Roberto Ravaglia (IT) who celebrated two DTM titles with the original E30 M3 back in 1987 and 1989, while before that, Volker Strycek (DE) won the DTM premiere in 1984 in the 635 CSi.

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