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Citroen boss says 2014 WTCC entry still likely

Citroen team principal Yves Matton remains confident his firm will be competing in World Touring Cars next year with Sebastien Loeb

Matton confirmed a decision will be taken on the company's 2014 plans before the end of the month.

"The decision on the World Touring Car Championship is coming shortly, but I cannot say Monday because if I say Monday then you will call me and ask," Matton said.

"I need to say weeks because I think it will be more than one week.

"I am pretty sure we will be there in 2014 - I am confident."

WTCC promoter Marcello Lotti had hoped to finalise the series' 2014 regulations - which effectively hang on Citroen's entering - by the end of last week.

He insists however that he is not troubled by the ongoing negotiations.

"I have no worries over the delays," he told AUTOSPORT at Moscow Raceway in early June.

"Teams know from the beginning the plan was to introduce (new) regulations, and that is still the case.

"There are two or three other manufacturers we are speaking to. We will know (soon) whether they come from the start, or maybe halfway through (the year).

"On this basis we will know if we have to keep both regulations on the grid or not.

"If the decision is to keep both, it could be also that we have a few weeks it makes sense to allow a small kit for 2014 to improve the performance of the current cars; this is something we will decide in the next couple of weeks."

Loeb, due to compete for Peugeot in the Pikes Peak hillclimb this weekend, first tested Citroen's potential WTCC contender at Valencia at the end of February.

Matton insists the decision to run a WTCC effort will not have any effect on Citroen's WRC commitment, despite speculation that the French manufacturer could pull out of rallying at the end of this season.

"I can only say what we say since December: we made an agreement with Abu Dhabi for three years," he explained.

"And nothing changes for the moment, there is no reason why we won't be there next year."

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