Huff switches from Honda to Munnich Citroen in 2017

The British driver won the first race of the season at Paul Ricard, before going on to finish sixth in the drivers' standings, claiming another four podium finishes during the season - albeit losing a second win in Marrakech through disqualification due to a technical irregularity with the Civic's flat floor.

Huff's move to Munnich sees him reunited with the privateer team for a second time, after having taken refuge there in 2013 when Chevrolet called time on its factory programme.

Honda is still understood to be fielding three factory cars in WTCC this year, with Tiago Monteiro and Norbert Michelisz set to be joined by Japanese driver Ryo Michigami for 2017.

"I'm overjoyed to be rejoining my very good friends at Munnich Motorsport," said Huff. "Having had a very successful year in 2013, we are excited to come back together in a much stronger position, with more experience and of course with the ultra-competitive Citroen package.

"Obviously when [team owner] Rene Munnich approached me with the idea of a Huff-Citroen-Munnich Motorsport attack on the World Championship for 2017, it was an opportunity that I simply could not pass on.

"[It will be] a year where it's quite possible for a private team to be World Champions, and that is our #1 goal."

Huff effectively replaces former Lada teammate and fellow Briton James Thompson at Munnich, who competed on a race-by-race basis in 2016, often deputising for team owner/driver Rene Munnich.

"We at Munnich Motorsport are very much looking forward to the new season," said team manager Dominik Greiner. "You can clearly feel the motivation from every single person in the team.

"With the Citroen C-Elysee TC1 we have the most dominant car of the past three seasons. With Rob, we also have a driver with a lot of experience and success in the past. The combination of car, team and driver makes me feel very positive for the new season."

Munnich still has two TC1-class Chevrolet Cruzes at its disposal - although these are unlikely to race - as well as a TCN2-specification Honda Civic, which the team has already said may be entered in the ETCC or in the TCR series. 

The Munnich Motorsport Citroen is the second privateer Citroen to be confirmed for 2017, with Sebastien Loeb Racing having confirmed that Tom Chilton will return to race for the team this year.

Neil Hudson / TouringCarTimes