The department traces its origins to 1960, when René Cotton — the winning team manager of the 1959 Monte Carlo Rally — was asked by Citroën to increase participation in rallying. Citroën began entering motorsport competitions itself in 1965, effectively forming the racing department. After Cotton's death in 1971, his wife Marlène succeeded him, having spent twelve years in his employment and inheriting his notes, plans, and documents. During the 1970s, financial pressures and energy crises led Citroën to reduce motorsport participation.
In 1980, former executive secretary of the FFSA, Guy Verrier — who had driven for Citroën under both Cottons — was tasked with building a World Rally Championship car. Verrier oversaw delivery of the Group B Visas and BX 4TC. Citroën withdrew from the championship early in 1986 to develop the car further, but the car's class was banned by FISA president Jean-Marie Ballestre after 1986, ending the campaign. The department at this period operated under the name Citroën Compétitions.
The department was officially re-established in 1989 as Citroën Sport, with former rally co-driver Guy Fréquelin as its head. Initial focus was Rally-Raid with the Citroën ZX, which won the Paris–Dakar Rally four times and took Ari Vatanen and Pierre Lartigue to driver titles. The ZX Rallye Raid also won the Constructor's title in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies for five consecutive years from 1993 to 1997, after which Citroën Sport announced withdrawal from rally raid to focus on tarmac rally and racing cars.
Attention returned to the World Rally Championship in the late 1990s with the Xsara Kit Car in the 2-Litre World Rally Cup for Manufacturers. Philippe Bugalski and Jean-Paul Chiaroni won both the 1999 Rally Catalunya and Tour de Corse outright, outpacing four-wheel-drive World Rally Cars. The Xsara was subsequently converted into the Xsara World Rally Car. Citroën Sport entered select rounds of the WRC in 2001, with Jesús Puras and Marc Martí winning the 2001 Tour de Corse.
Parent company PSA initially resisted allowing Citroën to enter the WRC Manufacturers' championship to avoid direct competition with Peugeot, but relented in 2003. That year the Citroën Total World Rally Team won the manufacturers' championship ahead of Peugeot, with Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena as lead crew. Citroën repeated the success in 2004 and 2005, after which Peugeot left the championship.
In 2006, Citroën semi-withdrew, nominating a Kronos Racing entry to compete as manufacturer in their name while developing the C4 World Rally Car. They returned fully with the C4 in 2007 and dominated from 2008, winning the manufacturers' championship every year through 2012. Fréquelin retired at the end of 2007 and was replaced as director by Olivier Quesnel.
The department was renamed Citroën Racing in 2009 as part of a company-wide branding overhaul. The DS marque was simultaneously revived as a sub-brand, and DS-based models became the basis for subsequent rally cars.
In 2009, the Citroën Junior Team was established as a second team, giving drives to Sébastien Ogier, Conrad Rautenbach, and Kimi Räikkönen among others. The C4 WRC was replaced by the Citroën DS3 WRC from 2011, winning two further manufacturers' championships in 2011 and 2012. Quesnel was succeeded by Yves Matton as Team Principal and Director after the 2011 season.
In 2013, Robert Kubica won five rallies in the WRC2 class driving a Citroën DS3 Regional Rally Car prepared by PH Sport, taking the WRC2 title. That year Citroën won the FIA tender to operate Junior WRC for three years from 2014, with championship entrants using DS3 R3T cars provided and serviced by Citroën Racing at each rally event.
Also in 2014, the Citroën World Touring Car Team began a three-season entry in the FIA World Touring Car Championship with Sébastien Loeb as lead driver and Yvan Muller as teammate. José María López won the drivers' title all three years, and Citroën took the manufacturers' title each season. The WTCC programme was cancelled after 2016 to refocus on WRC from 2017.
The World Rally Team took a sabbatical in 2016 to develop the C3 WRC, appearing at most rounds as Abu Dhabi Total WRT but not competing for the manufacturers' championship. Matton became FIA Rally Director ahead of 2018 and was replaced by Pierre Budar.
The C3 was not competitive in the post-2017 World Rally Car regulations, finishing fourth of four manufacturers two years running. Kris Meeke was dropped mid-season in 2018 after a series of crashes raised safety and risk concerns. For 2019, Citroën signed Sébastien Ogier, improving to third in the manufacturers' standings. Ogier left after one year of a two-year contract, invoking a performance clause following a series of mechanical failures that cost him wins and points. At Rally de Catalunya, hydraulic issues handed the championship title to Ott Tänak. Ogier's wife Andrea Kaiser publicly criticised the company on social media. Citroën Racing withdrew from the championship citing the absence of a first-class driver available for the 2020 season.
In 2019, Citroën also entered the WRC2 Pro Championship with a single driver, Mads Østberg, run by Belgian company DG Sport. The team finished third of three manufacturers.
In September 2025, Citroën Racing was announced as an entrant in the FIA Formula E World Championship for the 2025–26 season as Citroën Racing Formula E Team, replacing Stellantis sister brand Maserati. The team signed Nick Cassidy and double champion Jean-Éric Vergne as drivers. At the 2025 São Paulo ePrix, Cassidy finished third on the team's debut. At the 2026 Mexico City ePrix, Cassidy took the team's first Formula E victory after starting thirteenth.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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