Loeb: “It’s a shame to lose so many points”

“I was trying to manage my tires better than yesterday,” explains the Citroën driver. “I had a good pace, without excess. I wanted to take care of my trajectories to avoid sliding too much. »

But his day ended after eight timed kilometers: “On a fast plateau, there was? in my opinion ? a right turn that had to go full throttle. I may have overestimated it a little. The car shifted a little and I found myself on the inside of the next left. There was a big stone that tore off a wheel and sent us flying. We rolled over. We are not injured, that?s the main thing, but the car is too damaged to restart in SupeRally. »

This first retirement of the season, the first since Sweden 2008, risks considerably reducing its lead in the championship: “It's a shame to lose so many points at once. In a season, I always do one. I used to make this mistake on the second rally? This year, we had to wait until the seventh, I’m progressing! »

Before this test, Sébastien Loeb was 17 points ahead of Mikko Hirvonen.