Whatever McLaren supremo Ron Dennis may have said, second is definitely not first of the losers. Sebastien Loeb has turned a corner in rallycross and finished runner-up in the latest round at Memmet in Belgium: only the third-ever rallycross outing of his career. So chances are the Peugeot driver is going to be just as successful in that discipline as he has been in everything else…
“It was a pretty good weekend for me,” said Loeb. “It’s nice to have scored my first podium finish in rallycross and the main thing is that I was competitive throughout the event. I felt comfortable in free practice in the car at this track. I’m beginning to find my marks and I was helped by a positive draw. My starts were good and I succeeded in making the most of them, although it will still need some work before I can start chasing Mattias Ekstrom. He’s been fast everywhere so far. At least we were in the fight in Belgium. Now we need to produce a similar performance at the next round at Lydden Hill.”
The versatile Ekstrom, who has starred in the DTM and WRC as well as rallycross, currently leads the standings by just five points from 2003 WRC champion Petter Solberg. Loeb’s latest result has elevated him to fourth in the table, 24 points off the lead.
Story: Anthony Peacock
In: Maxrally