Kronos: We have short list of five to replace Seb.

by Rob Wilkins.

Kronos team boss, Marc van Dalen has revealed that around five drivers' are in consideration to stand-in for the injured Sebastien Loeb, who broke his arm earlier this week.

The Frenchman has again been sensational this season and his accident this week on Tuesday evening, while training for the Rally of Turkey, is a major blow for the Belgian-based squad, especially in light of just how close the battle is for the constructors' title, with just seven points now separating them from BP Ford.

"It is a really tough situation for us because like you know the battle for the manufacturers' championship is very close, so we have lost the very best driver we had this year - and everybody knows the level of Sebastien," van Dalen told Crash.net Radio. "Anyway we have to deal with it - we are fully behind him, we are supporting him and we have called to tell him that we are going to try and help as much as we can. What can we do other than that?

"We have to think about the best option and the best solution for us for the future now. We don't know yet how much time he needs to be ready again - it can be one rally he will miss, it can be two, it can be three, we don't know. And nobody can know it exactly at the moment."

Asked who might be brought in to fill the void, van Dalen explained that who ever gets the call they won't be able to replace Seb: "There are different options for us. In any case it will never be the best option, because it is impossible to have the best option as it is impossible to replace Sebastien - you know the level where he is," he added. "We take our time to think about different drivers who would be ready to replace him and there are three, four, five names.

"We are thinking about the pros and cons for every driver. I think it is better to take some time to have a really good think about it and to be sure the choice that we are going to make will be the best one. In any case, it will never be the best one, because it is impossible to replace Seb. So that is why the situation is difficult and it is not easy to decide."

Pressed on when Kronos might confirm their decision, van Dalen reiterated that it is not something they want to rush, although with the Rally of Turkey less than two weeks away, they don't have the luxury of loads of time.

"There are around four to five drivers and it is difficult to tell you exactly which one [we might go for]," he continued. "Honesty we are considering different drivers', we try to make the right decision even if it is never right, like I said before. The only objective we have is to try and put a little pressure on Marcus [Gronholm] at the next rally, otherwise he is going to win it easily, which is not what we want. So we will see over the next few days."

Although van Dalen did not say who the five candidates were, those in consideration could include: Toni Gardemeister, Gigi Galli and Kris Meeke [see separate story] and perhaps even someone like Markko Martin. Maybe Citroen boss, Guy Frequelin has also been on the phone, on behalf of van Dalen, to speak to Carlos Sainz again. Sainz of course came out of retirement last season, when Francois Duval was 'rested' for Turkey and Greece after a bust up with his co-driver. Indeed Duval himself could be a possibility too...