Ogier: Loeb duel won’t distract from title push

Volkswagen’s Sebastien Ogier says he is more interested in preserving his lead in the WRC drivers’ championship at Rally Argentina than trying to beat his returning arch rival Sebastien Loeb.

Loeb, the defending world champion, missed the two most recent WRC rounds in Mexico and Portugal but has chosen next week’s rally to be one of the handful he will contest in his retirement season.

The Citroën ace has a remarkable winning record in Argentina, having won every WRC qualifier the country has hosted since 2005.

Ogier won the Super-2000 class at Rally Argentina last year but is yet to win the event outright. He came closest in 2011 when he finished third.

The former team-mates have competed together twice this season. Loeb won the season opening Rallye-Monte-Carlo, while Ogier came out on top on round two in Sweden.

Ogier has since proved unbeatable on gravel, and wrapped up a hat-trick of rally wins in Portugal earlier this month.

Before heading to Argentina, and the pre-event recce that starts on Monday, Ogier said: “After the three victories, we obviously want to continue where we left off and, ideally, defend our lead in the championship until the end of the season. For now, however, we would be happy with another podium.”

“I am looking forward to the duel with Sébastien. We had a great battle in Sweden, and it will be anything but easy again here. However, my main focus is on my rivals in the World Championship.”