Citroen confirms Jose Maria Lopez, will run fourth car in WTCC 2014

The Argentinean, who has won the TC2000 title twice and took last year's crown in Super TC2000, has already tested several times for Citroen.

The 30-year-old triumphed in the second race of his WTCC debut on home soil this year, while competing for the Wiechers BMW team.

Lopez declared immediately after his victory that he would "love an opportunity" to join the series.

He will compete in next year's Turismo Carretera stock car series only when his WTCC duties permit him to do so.

Citroen team principal Yves Matton said he has high hopes for Lopez after the 30-year-old impressed during testing.

"After spending the last 10 years or so at the top of the WRC, we are excited about the idea of writing a new chapter in our shared history with Sebastien Loeb," he said.

"We have attempted to secure the best drivers for our team.

"Yvan Muller has been heavily involved in development of the car, and has been one the driving forces behind the progress we have made.

"But we also have high expectations of Jose Maria Lopez, who has proven to be very comfortable at the wheel of the C-Elysee WTCC during his first tests."

FOURTH CAR AT SELECTED ROUNDS

Citroen also confirmed it will run a fourth car for a Chinese driver at selected rounds next year.

While exact details are still to be announced, the car will be entered at the least in the three Asian rounds in China, Japan and Macau.

The team said it was still holding driver evaluations and that a final announcement is still some weeks away.

It had originally hoped to run Robert Kubica in selected events in 2014, but the Pole announced his switch to World Rally Championship rivals M-Sport last week.