Frenchman Muller retired from full-time driving after last November’s WTCC DHL Race of Qatar where he secured the runner-up spot in the final standings behind then Citroen team-mate Jose Maria Lopez.

Since joining the Swedish organisation on 1 January, Muller has attended all pre-season tests, working closely with factory drivers Thed Björk, Nicky Catsburg and Néstor Girolami, as well as with the team on other areas of development.

“I am really glad and proud to have recruited Yvan to Cyan Racing,” said Christian Dahl, CEO of Cyan Racing. “There is no other touring car driver as experienced as him in the world and he is a vital asset to the team. We can already see the progress made, even though our cooperation is still quite new. The plan for the moment is that he is not going to race for us, but rather focus on testing and development.”

Muller is the most successful driver in WTCC history with more titles (four), wins (48), pole positions (29), fastest laps (38) and laps led (571) than any of his rivals. For the past 10 seasons, he has not finished outside of the top three in the final standings.

“To start a cooperation with Cyan Racing is something that I am very pleased with,” said the 47-year-old. “They developed strongly last year for their first season and we have made interesting progress during the winter testing. I look forward to continuing to work with them and developing the car, as well as the team.”

François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events, the WTCC promoter, added: “You don’t become the most successful driver in WTCC history by chance and Cyan Racing has pulled off something of a coup by recruiting such a valuable asset. Yvan has made no secret of the enjoyment and satisfaction he gets from developing cars into race winners and without him, I doubt Citroën would have progressed so fast and achieved so much success so quickly. He brought a huge amount to that team and I have no doubt he will make an important contribution as Polestar Cyan Racing aims to win the World Touring Car Championship for Drivers and Manufacturers this season. Maybe there might be an opportunity for Yvan to do a one-off WTCC race – I know the fans would love to see him back racing again.”

Muller will be action during the official WTCC test at Monza in Italy on 14 March and will continue behind the wheel during the following day’s running at the Italian track.

A new season and a revamped driver line-up. Just how important is 2017 for you and Polestar Cyan Racing?
“It’s a lot more important because the first year was a learning season but now we are coming with a different view and we really want to beat the others.”

How much does that ramp up the pressure?
“A lot. I got the whole of last year to drive without pressure and now they ramp up the pressure – but they also are giving us a lot more testing and things like this. So, it’s back to normal like I am used to. If you are going to win the championship you always have to perform. And what I can do is try to perform as good as I can and get some help from my team-mates, and then the whole team can go faster. So it’s a good feeling.”

Is it fair to say you are more prepared for a season of racing than ever before?
“This is absolutely correct. A lot more work has been put in to prepare and we know the tracks, so definitely, a lot more preparations have been done.”

What changes have been made to the Volvo S60 Polestar TC1 for 2017?
“In general terms it’s the same basic car but there have been some small adjustments, I would say many small adjustments. With the experience we got from last year on all the different tracks we are trying now to put together what can be good on this track, what can be good on that track. It’s different things, no big thing has changed.”

But were there key areas where you were looking for significant changes to be made?
“At some tracks we were definitely looking for more traction to gain against the others and to be able to be fast where the others were fast. Last year, when we arrived in the season, we did not know where the other cars would be fast and that we have learned. Now we try to be better.”

What difference will a three-car team make?
“When you have three cars you have a lot more to do for the mechanics and for the team, but it’s also building you a stronger team that goes for the title. In the world championship three is the number you need for doing the WTCC MAC3 [team time trial]. It feels great and there is a good team spirit already. I have got to know Nicky more and more each day we drive together. Also, Néstor is a really good guy. I will try to learn everything they know to be faster than them!”

From what was an all-Swedish team before how will the dynamic change?
“It changes a lot but I believe the team is ready for this, it feels like we can get experience from everywhere, put it down and just work with it. It feels good, but it’s definitely different.”

Honda will be a big rival in 2017. What do you make of the testing they have been doing and their likely performance level?
“If we saw the Honda is testing we have been testing as well, but it’s hard to say what they have done and they don’t know what we’ve done. They’re a big competitor because they have so much experience and they have some good drivers, and that’s why our team is trying to pitch in knowledge from different categories to compete against them. More than that I don’t know. We will know much more in Marrakech.”

With three very competitive drivers in the same team there’s always the risk of on-track contact and disputes. How do you plan to handle those situations if they arise?
“For example, in Marrakech last year with Nicky, I have been racing all my life and when he hit me I don’t get angry, I just try to restart, continue driving, because if I finish I get some points. When I saw the braking tracks from his car on the next lap I thought if I had done these marks I would be apologising to the other driver – and that’s exactly what happened. He came and apologised, so it depends on the situation. I have so much experience that if they try to do something with me I will know what they’ve done and just have some good feeling they won’t do it [again]. We will have a good game plan from the beginning and try to follow that. If you see the other Honda drivers, everybody is so professional. If you get hit, well, everybody can do a mistake. I think if it’s happening in our team we will talk about it. I am very calm now but I think it can be like this and that is the key to the championship if we can do this.”

It will be your first season doing the WTCC MAC3 team time trial. Excited by the prospect?
“Really excited. It adds to the weekend what we are doing to get more points for the manufacturers. Also, it feels like we do the start and it’s like warming up for the real race. In the start it’s chaos, but it feels like a good weekend to do this: training, qualifying, MAC3 and the races, so I really look forward to it.”

A quick word on Néstor who, like you, is now a Gothenburg resident. What tips do you have for him?
“He can call me any time he wants. We are 15 or 20 minutes apart, just a short drive. I think he’s a little bit cold now but when we start to get to April and May he will really start to enjoy Sweden because the weather changes and it’s fantastic."

Finally, if you won’t win the WTCC title this year who will?
“If I don’t win it Nicky will win it. And if I don’t win it and Nicky doesn’t win it then it will be Bebu [Girolami]."

Bennani, 33, will embark on his third season with Sebastien Loeb Racing, armed once again with a Citroen C-Elysee WTCC.

In his eighth full campaign in the all-action world championship, Bennani is among eight drivers being earmarked as genuine title challengers in what is expected to be the most open WTCC season for almost a decade.

His status stems from the outright wins he scored in Hungary and Qatar on his way to a career-high fifth in the overall standings last season, plus his capture of the prestigious WTCC Trophy crown for independent racers in the same year.

“I am very pleased to continue this collaboration with Sébastien Loeb Racing,” said Bennani. “To me, stability is an important aspect to prioritise, especially considering how much we’ve learnt together these past two years. We all know how competitive the Citroën C-Elysée is and the team knows exactly how to make it perform to its best.

“I’m starting this new season with yet more confidence than the two previous ones. Of course, we’ll have to wait until the first race to have a true idea of the hierarchy, but I hope we’ll see in our results the improvements drawn from 2015 and 2016. Finally, I am overjoyed to welcome Afriquia as a new sponsor. It is particularly meaningful to me that they are a Moroccan company and I will do my utmost for our association to be rewarded with victory!”

Sébastien Loeb, ex-WTCC racer and co-founder of the Alsace-based team, said: “Mehdi has proven himself to be a key element for our team over these past two years. Keeping him with us was essential. He has integrated into the team perfectly, while at the same time gaining greater knowledge and control of his C-Elysée.

“He has the capacities needed to reach podium places even more often this season. We have prepared for this with two test drives in Navarra, as well as in Monteblanco, in Spain. I am delighted to conclude that with Mehdi, Tom Chilton and John Filippi our WTCC group is once again looking strong.”

“Mehdi was very solid and consistent across the season last year as his results clearly show,” said François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events, the WTCC promoter. “He finished high in the overall standings, won the WTCC Trophy and led Sébastien Loeb Racing last year. There are world title expectations around him this year, and I’m certain his team is also able to support him on that significant step.”

Bennani, who became the first Arabic driver to win an FIA world championship motor race in Shanghai in 2014, has made 170 WTCC starts to date and has three wins, one pole and two fastest laps to his name. He’s also led 86 laps so far and looks set to add to that tally in 2017.

The 2017 WTCC season gets underway at WTCC Race of Morocco in Marrakech from 7-9 April.

Five Mehdi moments
1: Makes WTCC debut on home soil in Morocco in 2009, qualifies P14 and takes a pair of ninths, plus top independent laurels in race one.
2: Scores first outright WTCC win, crossing the finishing line first in Shanghai in 2014.
3: Joins Sébastien Loeb Racing for 2015, narrowly misses out on WTCC Trophy title.
4: Makes light of the Hungarian rain to land his second outright victory in April 2016.
5: Scores first Main Race triumph from his first outright pole in Qatar having wrapped up the WTCC Trophy title spoils at the previous event in China.

As a long-term member of the Honda World Touring Car Team line-up, Portugal’s Tiago Monteiro, 40, is a firm contender for FIA World Touring Car Championship honours in 2017.

He discusses new team-mates, title rivals and the WTCC’s return to Macau.

Apart from testing, how have you kept busy during the winter months?
“I had some time off with my family over Christmas and the New Year. It was good, just enjoying time with my kids and my family. After that we started shaking down the cars, and there were some PR and marketing activities. I’ve been all over Europe since the beginning of January. I even had one day of skiing for a photoshoot. Now it’s going to be full on until [the first race in] April. When I look at my agenda, February is very busy with testing and PR, it’s non-stop. March there are not a lot of days off and then the first race will arrive very soon.”

What do you think of the new Honda driver line-up with Ryo Michigami joining the team and Rob Huff taking up a new challenge elsewhere?
“The first time we were together was in testing. It’s new but it’s not that new, because we already know Ryo from last year when he did some testing and a race with us. Because it was not a race weekend it doesn’t seem that different so far. It isn’t the biggest difference not having Rob there – many times in testing we were not together. But I’m very glad for him he’s found a good opportunity. I think he will be a strong competitor, no doubt about it.”

Will you be there to help Ryo?
“Of course, that’s what we’re here for. I’ve done that already in testing. We’re here to help him to be up to speed. He has the talent and the experience. He just needs to learn this car, which is very different to what he’s used to. He’s proven he can learn fast and be up to date.”

You’ll obviously need him to be quick for WTCC MAC3. What do you think of WTCC MAC3? Have you enjoyed it, has it been a good challenge?
“It’s been much more fun than I expected. The impact with the points last year was too low and it’s changing for this year, which is definitely a good idea. It is really a challenging thing for the drivers, it’s interesting but also stressful. If the show is good for the fans, then it’s a great tool and it should stay. And we need Ryo to be up to speed and I am quite confident he will be. Of course, there will be some tracks that he doesn’t know but he should be okay.”

Macau and Monza are back for this year – you must be very pleased with Macau in particular because it’s like a second home race for you given the Portuguese influence?
“I am, I am, I am very pleased with Macau. I was so disappointed when Macau left the championship. To have it back is great. As you know, I was there last year to win the Guia Race because I love it so much. Macau deserves to be in this championship and vice-versa. Monza, although it’s a great name and story, it’s not the most exciting circuit. The races can be exciting but it’s not perfect for the drivers with long straight lines and hard braking. Okay, there’s one great chicane, but I am not a big fan but that’s the way it is. It’s a bit frustrating we’ve lost tracks where we were very strong. Paul Ricard we always won there, Slovakia and Moscow. But that’s the way it is and we have to deal with that.”

The WTCC also goes back to the Nürburgring, which was obviously a difficult event for you last year. Do you have any fears about returning following your accident in 2016?
“No fears no, but the Nürburgring is always a challenge. The fact I had the accident is okay. Right after the accident I went back in the car and things were good. In my experience in motorsport I have not had too many big accidents. It’s part of the game and thank God it hasn’t affected my physically or psychologically. Of course, I will always think about the crash, but it was a place where you wouldn’t really crash but for a mechanical problem. It’s a challenge going back with or without the crash.”

If you don’t win the title this year, who will win it?
“Of course Norbi [Michelisz] will be probably my main competitor in the same team, same car and he can fight for the world championship. But I have no doubt Rob [Huff] in the Citroën will be a very strong competitor. Even if it’s not a works team the car is still faster than us at the moment. He has the material upper hand, no doubt about it. I don’t discount Volvo because they have been really coming back strong. They’ve worked hard and I know they’re signing some good drivers. They are reinforcing the whole team. I cannot say how they have been testing, but I am sure they will be a strong competitor. Right now, I will say Rob and Norbi will be my main competitors, but let’s not forget Volvo.”

And what about testing, reason to be optimistic?
“It’s looking positive. We have a lot of new things on the car, both aerodynamic and engine-wise and all the hard work that has been done over the winter looks great in terms of numbers. Now we have more testing before the first race so things will come bit by bit to the car.”