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Citroen has confirmed it will field a third DS3 World Rally Car for Nasser Al-Attiyah from the second round of next year's World Rally Championship.

The seven-time Middle East Rally champion will drive a Qatar-backed Citroen in exactly the same specification as that of eight-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb and his new Finnish team-mate Mikko Hirvonen.

Olivier Quesnel, Citroen Racing team principal said: 'We're pleased to announce the arrival of Nasser Al-Attiyah at Citroen Racing. He's a complete all-round driver who already has considerable experience as proved by his impressive results. We're delighted that he's chosen our team to make his debut in a World Rally Car, and we're determined to put all our support behind him to help him move up to the top level.'

Nasser Al-Attiyah added: "I'm very happy to fulfill what's been both a dream and a sporting objective. We've done a lot of work on this project in the past few months and I can't wait to get to know the team better and to test the DS3 WRC.'

Al Attiyah hasn't tested the DS3 WRC yet and said he wouldn't be making any predictions.

He said: '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. I think I'll be able to score good results in the toughest rallies like Greece, for example.

"I also feel it's a very positive step that the WRC is being opened up to longer events. The experience I've gained in the Dakar will certainly be very useful as endurance skills are of supreme importance in these rallies."