Loeb serves shakedown notice

Carlos Sainz backs Sebastien Loeb for the Rally Spain, but predicts the championship battle between the Frenchman and Mikko Hirvonen will be tight.

The five-time world champion Sebastien Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena compete in their Citroen C4 Total during the shakedown of Rally Spain in Salou, Spain.

CATALUNYA // Carlos Sainz has backed Sebastien Loeb for this weekend's Rally Spain, but is predicting that the championship battle between the Frenchman and Mikko Hirvonen will go right down to the wire. The Spanish double world champion, who claimed the title in 1990 and 1992, claims that he cannot predict an overall champion, but anticipates the action in his home country, which starts today, to go with the form to Loeb and his Citroen at the front.

That is no real surprise as Loeb and Citroen have been a dominant force in tarmac rallying in recent years, with the Frenchman having won the event in Spain for the last four years. Hirvonen has a five-point lead in the standings with only this one in the Tarragona region and then Rally Great Britain still to run. The BP Ford Abu Dhabi driver can be champion this weekend if he finishes third or better and Loeb fails to finish, an unlikely scenario give Citroen's expected performance advantage over his team on tarmac.

Looking at the overall picture, Sainz told wrc.com: "Everybody knows Sebastien is fast on Spanish asphalt and Mikko is strong in GB - if that means they win one rally each then the pressure is on Sebastien because he is behind on points at the moment." "I like the improvement of Mikko in the last few years, since he himself played the role of the 'second driver,' as Dani [Sordo] is this year. He has learned and impressed, and has the talent to become world champion.

"You have to pick Loeb to win in Spain though for obvious reasons. He knows the route so well and he has the kind of skills you need as a driver to do well on tarmac, but it's impossible to say who will win the overall title this year." What is going to be a key factor this weekend is the performance of the teammates of the two main protagonists. While Loeb will be confident of securing his sixth victory of the year, he will need his teammates, Dani Sordo and Petter Solberg, to finish ahead of Hirvonen as well if he is to put himself in a position to have the championship destiny in his own hands going into Wales later this month.

Two second-place finishes will be enough for Hirvonen to win his first world championship. Sainz also believes that the roles of Sordo and Solberg will be crucial, with the latter having been signed up from his privateer car by Citroen especially for the championship finale in a bid to bolster Loeb's challenge. "For sure Dani and Petter have massive roles to play," he said. "Petter recently switched to a Citroen C4 and will be scoring points for Citroen now. He can be very fast and it's just a question of how quickly he adapts to his new set-up."

It is Sordo's home rally and with the Spaniard yet to register a victory in the series, Sainz believes his compatriot may have to temper his own personal ambition for the good of the team. "If I was Dani, at my home rally, I would be going flat out to win every stage and claim the win on the rally myself," he said. "This may not benefit Loeb, and I would go slower if it was necessary and for the benefit of the team. I think tactics will play a part here this weekend."

Loeb backed up his billing as favourite to win with the fastest time in yesterday's shakedown test. The Frenchman clocked a time of 2min 36.4sec around the 4.32km course. He was a second clear of the Citroen Junior driver Sebastien Ogier, with Sordo third, and a content Loeb said: "Everything went well and we did not make any specific changes. "I hope everything will develop smoothly. I hope I'll win and my teammate Dani Sordo can finish second."

Hirvonen was fourth quickest to confirm the tall order he faces this weekend to keep his championship opponent within his sights. He said: "Everyone knows how strong Loeb is on asphalt so I think there's enough of a fight for me to try to get second. "Eight points would help greatly ahead of the last round but won't be easy to achieve." The Finn's teammate, Jari-Matti Latvala, was a further three tenths slower in fifth.

Today's action sees six stages being held, with the rally comprising 18 in all. [e-mail]