Three questions to Sébastien Loeb

Has your victory in Finland changed your approach to the end of the season?

“There are still five events left to run and a lot of points are up for grabs. My win in Finland was one of the greatest of my career after a battle that lasted three days. It’s true that my aim was not to lose too many points on this difficult terrain to stay in the lead in the world championship before the first event on tarmac. I suppose you could say that we achieved this objective! Overall, it was a pretty good result, but it hasn’t modified our strategy for the end of the season. We still have to score as many points as possible in each rally.”

You’re unbeaten in Germany so this makes you the hot favourite, doesn’t it?

“I know that this series will come to an end one day. The competition is getting stronger and stronger. This year there’s a new, unknown factor with the arrival on new WRCs on asphalt. Despite all this I’m feeling pretty confident. I love Rally Germany. It’s a very special event for me. My fans have always given me fantastic backing and it’s here that I scored my first world championship victory. The Citroën DS3 WRC was very quick during testing, and tarmac is a surface on which we’ve enjoyed a lot of success.”

What did you feel during testing in the DS3 WRC?

“In relation to what we experienced before, the Citroën DS3 WRC is a bit more reactive. Its handling and balance are very good. The central self-adjusting differential has been banned by the new regulations, but the car runs very well without the help of electronics. The Michelin tyres are different to the ones we had in previous years. We ran through a wide range of setups to find the right ones. We know our rivals have also done a lot of work, but we’re ready for them!”