Wales Rally GB: three questions to Sébastien Loeb

Before Rally Spain you told us that you wouldn’t take a lot of risks to win the rally. And yet you did! What have you got in store for us in Rally Great Britain ?

“It’s always more fun not to stick to the plot, isn’t it ? I’m heading for Wales in a relaxed frame of mind. If I like the route, if I feel inspired after reconnaissance and the weather conditions are suitable, I’ll fight for victory. I’ll see when I’m there as I may have the right feeling for this rally – or I may not – depending on the conditions. If we’re on icy stages on gravel tyres like in 2008, I don’t think I’ll bother trying to find the ultimate tenths.”

You’ll probably have more rivals on gravel…

“It’s true. In Spain, Dani Sordo was the only one who could have given me a run for my money, but he lost out on the first day. Sébastien Ogier tried too hard and went off. It’ll be different in Great Britain. Ogier, Solberg, Latvala and Hirvonen are all potential winners. All the more so as three of them are fighting for the runner-up spot.”

It’ll be your last rally in the C4 WRC. Even though you’re not the nostalgic kind, how do you view its evolution over the last four seasons?

“A racing car that evolves is a bit like a kid you don’t see growing up! The C4 WRC’s evolution was done in small steps on an on-going basis. Nothing’s fundamentally changed – except for the decoration! But if you were to put me into the 2007 car today, I’d begin to ask myself if there wasn’t a problem. If something sticks in my mind, it’s the change to Pirellis in 2008. Their structure was very different to what we’d known before, and we were forced to make in-depth modifications to the suspension on gravel.”