The two contenders for this year’s World Rally Championship squared up to one another today as the start of Wales Rally GB drew ever closer.
Sebastien Loeb, the seven-time title winner, will hold an eight-point advantage over Mikko Hirvonen when the first of 23 stages get underway on Thursday afternoon.
Citroen driver Loeb, who has won in Wales for the past three seasons, said: “This is never an easy rally but the rain before the event could help me a little bit because it’s not so difficult to drive first on the road in these conditions. Sometimes it can be even better to be first on the road.”
He continued: “I like the new stages, they are very typical of what you have in Wales. It’s a good place for the fight.”
Hirvonen, who heads Ford’s factory effort in the world championship, said: “It’s the last rally and it’s win it or bin it this weekend. We have to go for a big, big push but only when we get into the forests. Those first two Tarmac stages could be a really nasty place if you get caught out. I will be playing it safe there and I don’t mind if I lose 10 seconds. But once we get to the gravel it’s flat out.”