Sebastien Loeb rolled
Sebastien Loeb yesterday morning in icy conditions during the recce for Wales Rally GB on the Myherin stage. Conditions were paricularly bad and Loeb slipped off the road and rolled down a bank in his road car. The rally begins on Thursday evening with a ceremonial start, then the stages commence on Friday.
Loeb commented about his goals for Rally GB: “I've hardly had time to catch my breath since Japan. The Wales Rally GB is an event I enjoy. The atmosphere is always very special, especially on the stages run in semi-darkness. The terrain is also highly specific, and never easy. The muddy conditions can produce differing levels of grip from one corner to the next, while other portions can be impressively fast and technically challenging, especially given how little grip there is - when there is grip! It's a rally I've never won – for a variety of reasons – and I would dearly like to win it one day. That probably won't be our priority this time round, however. Winning the Manufacturers' title is important for Citroen and we will do all we can to make that happen. That will mean defending our current eleven-point lead, steering clear of all the pitfalls and finishing as close to our rivals as we can."
Wilks to Start Wales Rally GB
Guy Wilks is expected to start Wales Rally GB, following an appeal hearing which reinstated him as winner of the previous round of the British Rally Championship. This decision keeps alive Wilks' hopes for winning again the BRC, for which the WRGB also counts. The dispute centred on the use of a non-homologated steering column on the British importers' Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX driven by Wilks. The appeal court found that this was a safety issue. The court agreed that Wilks' unusual personal height meant that he needed special modifications to the car, which the team claimed are permitted by the rules. Rivals to the Mitsubishi team claim that the steering column in question facilitated faster on-event gearbox changes. It now remains to be seen what type of steering will be fitted on Wilks' car at WRGB. No news on this was forthcoming from the Mitsubishi team.
3mmm