Quesnel tips Loeb for more success in 2011

Citroen Racing director Olivier Quesnel has backed his lead driver Sebastien Loeb to challenge for an eighth world crown in 2011 and believes achieving the feat would mean more than his seventh title triumph this season.

Loeb became world champion for a seventh time with victory on Rallye de France earlier this month at the wheel of his Citroen C4 WRC. The win also marked his 60th in the global series alongside regular co-driver Daniel Elena.

“Winning a seventh world title is confirmation of all of his career and it means he will be the best driver in rallying we have ever had in the world and after he will be a legend,” said Quesnel. “To get the eighth title will be quite complicated but will be quite special and we know he can do it. It will be a new car, new tyres, a new team-mate and I am sure that Ford will be competitive and Mikko [Hirvonen] will be back at the level we have seen from him before.”

“Sebastien stays in the world championship because he knows it will not be easy to win again and I think that is why [winning] the title again [in 2011] will mean more.”

Loeb will also have to be at the top of his game in 2011 to beat his emerging team-mate and countryman Sebastien Ogier, who is set to finish second in the title race having claimed two victories so far this season.

Ogier, 26, will switch to the main Citroen team for all 13 rounds of next year’s WRC and Quesnel has confirmed that no preferential treatment will be handed out to either of his two drivers.

“There is no problem for him to succeed because this is the philosophy of Citroen,” said Quesnel. “At the beginning of the season they will be on the same level and I am pretty sure that next year will be interesting because we were very surprised by what Ogier has done this year, even himself I think. He will be more confident and more experienced next year and knows exactly what he can do.”