Saxo set to star on Rally GB.
The Citro?n Saxo of French hotshot Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena will be one of the cars to watch on the final event of the 2001 World Rally Championship, despite competing in the largely unheralded Super 1600 category.
The Citro?n Saxo of French hotshot Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena will be one of the cars to watch on the final event of the 2001 World Rally Championship, despite competing in the largely unheralded Super 1600 category.
Such has been Loeb's progress this season, that the Saxo heads the leaderboard a full ten points ahead of its nearest rival, and another display of controlled aggression is likely to propel the French crew even further ahead of the field in Great Britain. While all eyes will be on the 'home' battle between Britons Colin McRae and Richard Burns for the world title, however, Loeb is expected to take another step towards joining the 'big boys'.
After an impressive display on the Rallye San Remo this season, the young Frenchman will again be looking to wow the works Citro?n Sport team, which recently announced that he is to pilot one of the awesome 300bhp Citro?n Xsara WRCs in seven rounds of next year's championship.
"I plan to drive fast, but without taking risks," Loeb said of his battle plan for the Network Q-backed event, "It is important for us to see this through to the end, so that we can learn for the future, particularly as the changes of grip caused by weather conditions and different surfaces are really tricky."
Loeb's Saxo won't be the only one competing on the event, however, and will face stiff competition as British driver Niall McShea aims to win his home round of the championship. McShea has taken part in the UK rally twice and, on both occasions, was running first in his category when technical problems forced him to retire. This time round, he really wants to win.
"This rally could be a turning point in my career, so I'm really putting myself under pressure," he acknowledged, "I won't have any excuses for not being up there in front, and fighting to win."
Trading their Ford Puma for a Saxo on this leg of the championship, Malaysia's Saladin Mazlan and Briton Tim Surla are the third crew running one of the French cars and looking for that extra competitive edge.
