José María López has proven a force to be reckoned with in the World Touring Car Championship, winning the title two years in a row for Citroën and leading this year’s championship for a third.
However, the French automaker is shutting down its touring-car program, leaving López with a choice: either stay in the series with another manufacturer, or follow Citroen to another series. As it turns out, he’s chosen the latter.
Next year, the two-time touring car champion will leave tin-top racing and head for the FIA Formula E Championship. There he’ll drive for the Virgin Racing team, which just so happens to be powered by Citroën’s premium sister brand DS Automobiles.
López will fill the seat vacated by Jean-Eric Vergne, who has moved to the Techeetah team (previously known as Team Aguri). Sam Bird, who has won three Formula E races already, will stay on in the second seat at Virgin, helping the team pose an even more serious threat next season.
Though López has made a name for himself principally in touring cars, he’s not without open-wheel, single-seater experience. He competed in Formula 3000 and GP2 earlier in his career, served as a Formula One test driver for Renault, and was set to drive for the US F1 team before the project collapsed.
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