Matton appointed FIA Rally Director, Budar fills top Citroen role
Yves Matton has been named as the new FIA Rally Director and will leave his director position at Citroen Racing and replaced by Pierre Budar.
The Belgian’s appointment has been confirmed with Jarmo Mahonen retiring from the FIA role at the end of 2017. Matton will take up his new position at the FIA at the start of February, and is expected to maintain a role at Citroen for the 2018 season opener Rallye Monte Carlo on the 25-28 January, with Budar filling the top job at the French manufacturer.
Yves Matton has been named as the new FIA Rally Director and will leave his director position at Citroen Racing and replaced by Pierre Budar.
The Belgian’s appointment has been confirmed with Jarmo Mahonen retiring from the FIA role at the end of 2017. Matton will take up his new position at the FIA at the start of February, and is expected to maintain a role at Citroen for the 2018 season opener Rallye Monte Carlo on the 25-28 January, with Budar filling the top job at the French manufacturer.
Matton rose to fame as team manager at Kronos Racing in the 1990s before joining Citroen in 2002 as logistics manager before working his way up the ranks covering both WRC and WTCC and named as team principal in 2012.
“I feel very honoured to take on this position at the FIA, the governing body of world motor sport,” Matton said. “I have worked at various levels of the sport, including for one of the most successful manufacturers in history, but this is for me a real achievement in itself.”
FIA President Jean Todt has welcomed Matton’s appointment with the Belgian reporting to FIA General Secretary for Sport Peter Bayer for all rally and cross country racing matters.
“Yves has a wealth of experience across many facets of rallying, which is important for its continued growth,” Todt said. “He has great passion for the sport and his understanding of competition and management at independent and manufacturer levels will be a great asset to further securing the future development of our sport. I would also like to thank PSA Motorsport for making Yves’ transition to the FIA so seamless.
“I also pay tribute to Jarmo Mahonen for his significant contribution and the advancements made in rallying under his management. We have solid foundations to further build on and I am confident we will continue to see the sport grow from strength to strength.”
Matton will be succeeded by Budar as Citroen boss having previously held senior management roles in Citroen’s road car and customer competition divisions.
