Loeb cool on victory talk

Sebastien Loeb says capturing a ninth FIA World Rally Championship title isn’t dependent on winning Brother Rally New Zealand this week.

The Citroen ace is currently 30 points clear of fellow Citroen Total World Rally Team driver Mikko Hirvonen and admits making it five wins out of seven starts this season won’t be his sole focus.

“It is not imperative but for sure when you can fight for the win you will try to do it, so I will see,” said the 38-year-old. “For sure it will be a complicated rally with the weather and a lot of different things like tyre choice, so we will see. I will try to do my best. I think it’s quite important to have a good feeling with the car and then we will see.”

Even though Loeb is playing down the prospect of victory on the Auckland-based round, his team boss Yves Matton has high hopes of a successful rally for the French squad.

“With four wins out of the first six rallies, including two one-two finishes, the team is on a good run,” said Matton. “This rally should enable us at least to confirm if not increase our lead in both championships. The outcome is still far from certain, however, and we have seen in recent rounds that the gaps between the leading cars are very narrow. Everything suggests we’ll see yet another [exciting] battle in the World Rally Championship.”