Sébastien Loeb, new leader of the South African Safari: “I feel good in the car”

After a difficult day on Wednesday, the Dacia clan could smile on Thursday evening. The group's manufacturer Renault achieved a nice double, with the stage victory of Nasser Al-Attiyah and the performance of Sébastien Loeb, the new leader of the general classification. The Alsatian experienced a chaotic stage, marked by a minor mechanical problem, which was not serious, but which did not prevent him from setting the fourth fastest time at the ASS.

Thanks to his time, 1'22'' behind that of his teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah, the nine-time world rally champion and his co-driver Fabian Lurquin took the lead with a 0'23'' advantage over Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz (Ford). It was a difficult day. The navigation was really complicated. ", assures Loeb upon arrival.

"We lost a bit of time in several places in the special, so I wasn't very satisfied during the race.", continues the Sandrider pilot. "But in the end, I think everyone struggled a bit because it was really technical. So yes, now we're leading the rally. It was a surprise at the end of the day, but good news. There are still two long days left, but so far, it's going well. I feel good in the car. The sensations are good. It's been perfect for three days, so no problems so far."

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Loeb will start 4th on Friday

Having finished fourth in the third stage, Sébastien Loeb will start the penultimate special stage on Friday in fourth place. A tricky position, as Thursday's opening riders lost a lot of time at the finish. South Africans Guy Botterill and Saood Variawa (Toyota), first and second at the start, lost 10 and 15 minutes respectively at the end of the stage. A nearly prohibitive delay, which propels them far from the top 10.

Sébastien Loeb, however, believes that, despite a far from ideal starting position, he should be able to limit the damage, as his rivals will also be starting among the frontrunners. "Starting further back, I think it's better. That's what we've seen for a few stages: the later you start, the better. But in the end, the opponents are all grouped together between the top positions. Maybe not the best position, but it's not so bad." nuance Sébastien Loeb.

The 50-year-old driver will start after his runner-up in the general classification, Carlos Sainz (Ford), who is second on the track, and shortly before the Toyotas of Henk Lategan (fifth at the start) and Lucas Moraes (seventh). While the four men are grouped together within a minute in the general classification, the classification risks being shaken up again at the end of the 224 km special around Sun City.