Loeb: My four rallies explained

Sebastien Loeb might not be chasing a 10th FIA World Rally Championship crown in 2013 but he’ll still be in action on selected events.

He told reporters at the launch of the Citroen Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team earlier this month the four rallies he has picked and why.

“The idea [for the four rallies] came one day when we were discussing the future with Citroen,” said the Frenchman. “Four is enough. The two that I wanted to do was Monte-Carlo and France, but four is a good way for next year. I wanted to do Sweden as well next year, to see if I can try and stay on the road one time. Then there was one gravel rally somewhere.

“I wanted to do my rallies at the start of the season - I don’t want to do my first rally in, say, Finland in the middle of the season without being in the car for four months. In the first rallies, Argentina is the interesting event with the big market for Citroen.”

Loeb will carry the coveted number one on his Citroen DS3 WRC on the four events he tackles alongside co-driver Daniel Elena in 2013. The number won’t be used when he’s not competing.