Loeb's injury still a concern?

Citroen number one driver, Sebastien Loeb will not be at 100 per cent this week, when the season begins with the Rallye Monte Carlo, the first event in the 2007 FIA World Rally Championship.

Loeb may be fit enough to compete, but the Frenchman is still experiencing a few niggles with his arm, a result of his mountain bike accident at the end of September last year, which forced him to miss the final four events. Furthermore while he has been testing regularly since mid-December, he is still experiencing pain when he makes sudden movements.

"I have yet to recover all my strength and I still have difficulty making certain movements," he explained. "I'm still a little stiff. But it's getting better all the time and I only feel pain when I make sudden movements. I was able to get in a lot of kilometres during testing and my injury didn't prevent me from being quick.

"Anyway, I intend to go into the rally as though nothing is wrong and see how it goes."

Loeb will switch from using the Xsara to the C4 this year and following the most recent pre-Monte test, the Frenchman is happy with his new machine: "I haven't got as much experience with this car as I have with the Xsara, but generally, the feeling is positive," he continued. "The C4's balance is excellent and it responds well.

"To my mind, we have done enough testing and there is reason to be optimistic but, as I often say, testing is one thing. The true litmus test will be actually competing. I know I will discover new things about the C4 on the event."

Loeb has an excellent record on the Rallye Monte Carlo and won the event three times in succession from 2003 to 2005, while also taking second in 2002 and in 2006. Despite that though, with the route so dramatically different this season, it will add a new twist to proceedings.

"Getting to know the C4 on new stages complicates matters a little," he conceded. "There's a lot that will be new at the same time. I have no idea yet what the stages are like. Daniel [Elena - my co-driver] and I haven't talked about them. This year's event might mark a return to classic Monte territory, but at the same time the most legendary stage of them all - the Col de Turini - has disappeared in the process. So, all in all, apart from change, the move hasn't brought anything. Perhaps there'll be a higher chance of snow and that would be good for the spirit of the Monte Carlo. On the other hand, if it doesn't snow, locals who live near the stages tell me they will be very fast.

"As for equalling any records [and taking four wins on the Monte like Sandro Munari, Walter Rohrl and Tommi Makinen], I haven't given it a thought. The most important thing will be to find out whether the C4 is competitive or not and my objective for this event, which has tended to go well for me in the past, is to win. If that enables me to equal the record, then, that's cool."