Loeb: “Hirvonen surprises me”

Last year, you won in Norway. Here you are beaten in Sweden. Does Hirvonen scare you more now?
We'll see how it goes on the other grounds. Here, we had a problem that we didn't have in Norway, namely that we destroyed the tires. During the second round, the stages were 100% gravel. I think we weren't good at that, compared to them. We will see on the next rallies. Last year, he finished one point behind me so we know very well that it will be very close this year.

After Sweden, Mexico is emerging, a rally of which you are the title holder. Does that give you confidence?
It's a rally, certainly one that I have won several times, but which has never been easy. There is always a big fight. I remember that last year, we sometimes had difficulty hanging on. I think they will be competitive and it will not necessarily be easy to win.

What would you have liked to find on your C4 that you didn't get during the weekend?
Tires at the end of the special! We see that there is a problem at this level at Citroën, compared to Ford. We see that Dani (Sordo), Seb Ogier and I destroy the front tires. The Fords, no. Even Latvala, which rolls in bulk, does not destroy them. We had a little problem, in the second round, at this level.

What happened on Saturday afternoon, in terms of strategy, when you made your tactical “mistake” regarding the tires?
We found ourselves in an unusual situation. We couldn't attack in the special stages because we found ourselves on the dirt with studded tires and we tore them off. So, then, we had to optimize the use of tires. We underestimated that when we put the new tires on the front, the rear tires were completely destroyed. We didn't think they would be so destroyed at that time. So I was never able to take advantage of my new tires.

Those who put on new tires on the previous stage still had a few rear tires, they were able to take advantage of their front tires. Afterwards, they no longer had any rear tires but they no longer had too many front tires either, so their car was rather balanced. I destroyed everything behind, and then I put new tires in front and the car was undriveable, because it was unbalanced.

Why not opt ​​for the same tire strategy as Hirvonen?
Because we thought ours was the right one, and because we didn't know Hirvonen's. We had done our own analysis, which we considered to be the best. We also wanted tires for the ice in the evening, because we saw that we made a difference on the ice. We knew that arriving on the ice with nails, compared to a pilot who no longer has nails, even over two kilometers, that it would make the difference. The proof, as we didn't wear our front tires too much, we still had nails and we took six seconds from Hirvonen (in SS16). So we were right to want to preserve the tires, to want to preserve the studs. But we really underestimated the car's imbalance.

Hirvonen welcomed his risk-taking. Do you think you were too careful?
We developed a strategy that seemed best to us, not because we considered it prudent. He took the risk of getting his new tires earlier and getting by afterwards. We wanted to finish the previous train to preserve the new tires and benefit from them later, except that we were never able to benefit from them.

Mikko Hirvonen beat you to the regular this weekend. Did he surprise you?
Hirvonen surprises me by the fact that he doesn't make any mistakes, even when we push him to the maximum, when we're at full throttle, at the limit. In the first passages, when I had no tire problems and I was driving at the limit, the weather was the same. He is reliable, he doesn't make mistakes.

Does Hirvonen's level of competitiveness remind you of your fights with Grönholm or Solberg?
Solberg has never been at this level! Solberg had a tire advantage in 2003, he was walking alone because he was the only one with those tires there at times. And Grönholm, yes, but not with such reliability. For me, today, Hirvonen is going as fast as Grönholm, and to the end.

Taking only two tenths from Hirvonen in a special where you are attacking, did that surprise you?
I knew I had to try to make time for him at all costs. So I gave everything and we only took two tenths from him (in SS17, first special on Sunday morning). We calculated that we could take the lead if the rally lasted another 1640 kilometers (laughs)!

I couldn't go any faster. I didn?t make a mistake, I was on the limit everywhere? And him, the same.

Are you having trouble digesting this “defeat”?
I never like being hit on a regular basis. You have to know how to accept it. If he hits me regularly in Alsace, something will have to be done. I tell myself that in Sweden, we can accept it. If it continues like this on the other rallies, it will be more annoying.

A local rally also passed through the roads of your specials. Did it help you?
Yes, it?s a bit rubbish. We're doing a world championship rally, and they're ruining the road for us with a local rally. They could have done things differently, organized the local rally the following week, rather than having a hundred cars pass through the same place. A rally on snow, basically, we already know that on the second lap, the road is less good. So add another rally in between?

Is the arrival of Kimi Räikkönen in rallying a good thing?
It gets people talking about the rally, it interests people. This is good because the rally needs media coverage at the moment. On a sporting level, he is learning, like everyone else. We cannot immediately find ourselves in front when arriving in a rally. He did some decent times, with a delay of one to two seconds per kilometer. But it?s a world championship, so you have to learn. He is a very good driver, he has all the cards in hand to progress, but he will have to work a little.

It seems easier for a world champion F1 to come in WRC, that for a world rally champion to go to F1?
They are not the same budgets. With what he earned in F1, he easily paid for his rally season. Me, with what I will earn all my life in rallying, I cannot afford an F1 season.

Today, one week before the officialization of the crews Peugeot for 24 Hours of Le Mans, do you know if you are in for the adventure?
I don't know. It?s possible but it?s not done. We'll see next Monday. We'll have to decide. But it’s clear that it takes up a lot of time in the planning. With the development of the new car (DS3 WRC), the C4 in progress, the rallies? That's a lot to do. There is no reason why this cannot be done. If I go there with Peugeot, I don't think Peugeot is going there for fun. If I do it, it will be serious, it will require investment, time. This is why we must think carefully about the question.

Find the AUTOhebdo report on the Swedish Rally in the next issue, on sale from Wednesday.