As it stands Sebastien Loeb has one more WRC rally left in his record-breaking career. That’s scheduled to be his home event, Rallye de France-Alsace, in early October. However, Citroën’s current parlous performance against the emerging dominance of Volkswagen has forced Citroën Racing boss, Yves Matton, to think twice about letting Loeb go so easily.
With half of the WRC season behind us Loeb has proven to be the only person capable of defeating Volkswagen, as his victories in Monte Carlo and Argentina prove. He finished second to The Other Sebastienâ„¢ in Sweden and we wouldn’t mind betting that Ogier holds that victory, his first for Volkswagen, in high regard because of Loeb’s participation.
“I haven’t spoken to him yet, but for sure at the half of the season I will speak again with Sebastien to see if he has the motivation to do maybe one or two rallies more,†said Matton.
“It depends a lot on what we [Citroen] will do in the future, if we will be involved in the touring cars or not. In the following days or weeks then we will have an answer and we will see with Seb what we can do.â€
We now know that Citroën Racing has been confirmed as a starter in the 2014 World Touring Car Championship, with Sebastien Loeb in the role of poster boy and lead driver. That really only leaves this year for Loeb to mount any challenge against Volkswagen in the WRC.
And what of Mikko Hirvonen, the supposed number one for Citroën this year? He’d better pull his finger out, and fast.
[Source: wrc.com]