If VW and Citroen are doing so well there then why is it so important to go to China? Sure it could help them immeasurably on top of what they already do but isn't increasing sales in a struggling market important? By struggling I mean where the brand in particular has a bad reputation, not somewhere where everybody is in poverty and no one is buying cars.

Don't get me wrong I'm not poo-pooing the idea of going to China. Like the 1999 event it could be an interesting rally, but why this insistence of "we sell 10 billion cars a year in China, therefore we must compete there to increase those sales further". If the Chinese aren't interested in WTCC what have Citroen got out of it? I thought that was a big reason for them going to WTCC and why they used the C-Elysee (correct me if I'm wrong but that's sold in China right?).

With F1 and especially WTCC it seems like the sports need China more than China wants them.