Loeb: 8th victory on the horizon?

The six-time World Champion will do everything to return to success in Germany, an event that he has dominated head and shoulders since his registration in the WRC in 2002. He never let victory go to waste on these lands where he knows the nature of the roads better than anyone, since he lived only a few dozen kilometers from Trier, where the Rally from Germany.

He knowingly let victory slip away in Finland, aware that this dangerous rally would slow down his progress towards a seventh title if an error forced him to retire. Mikko Hirvonen, who was in the lead at the start of the first day, will be able to testify to this, he who ended his race with a series of rolls, fortunately not serious for the crew. This retirement caused the Ford driver to drop one place in the standings, in favor of Citroën private driver Petter Solberg.

Loeb nevertheless secured the podium with a satisfactory third place, but did not seek to attack on a rally where he was “only? » once victorious. The Citroën driver knew well that the German Rally was close behind, and that he could return to victory again. He will thus be driven by the desire to set a new record by attempting to score an eighth consecutive victory, and will free himself again by taking all the risks to achieve his objectives.

Especially since Sébastien Ogier, Loeb's greatest adversary according to the latter, is (for the moment) slightly behind on the asphalt compared to the dirt. Sébastien Loeb's teammate, Dani Sordo, will on the contrary be on his favorite surface. And even if the Spaniard will probably not be able to keep up with the pace set by the Championship leader, it is likely that he will do everything to get between the two rivals for the title, while he is still in the lead. awaiting the renewal of his contract with Citroën.

As has often been the case in the past, the fight for the podium is likely to emerge between the Citroën drivers. But too much pressure between these drivers could lead to mistakes, which would subsequently be profitable for Ford, which claims to have found solutions to get the Focus RS WRC back into the race on the asphalt.

Find a mini-guide to the Rally Germany this week in your AUTOhebdo magazine, so you don't miss anything about this event taking place not far from the French border, near Trier.