Norway’s Mads Østberg will be back in a Citroën C3 R5 this season to chase the WRC 2 title.

Østberg and co-driver Torstein Eriksen finished second in WRC 2 Pro last year behind runaway winner Kalle Rovanperä. They return in a car run by PH Sport with backing from Citroën Racing.

They will tackle eight rounds, beginning with the season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo (23 - 26 January). Their programme also includes Sweden, Portugal, Italy, Finland, Germany, Britain and Japan.

“It’s great to be continuing with everyone in the team,” said Østberg. “We worked hard on the car’s development last year, with the main evolutions notably concerning its brakes, suspension and engine performance. That should give us a certain edge in 2020.”

The French manufacturer will also back Yohan Rossel’s six-round WRC 3 campaign in a C3 R5, as well as supporting WRC 3 entries Nicolas Ciamin and Eric Camilli in Monte-Carlo.

Rossel will tackle the same events as Østberg, with the exceptions of Sweden and Japan. Ciamin is also targeting six rounds in the category.

“We have so much to learn and our aim is to stay clear of trouble and finish well at the end of the year,” said Rossel. “I’m delighted to be teaming up with Mads. His experience of the world championship will clearly be a big help, especially on the Monte-Carlo where tyre choice is such a big challenge.”

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