Loeb out to catch Latvala this afternoon

Defending World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb says he wants to take the lead of the rally from Jari-Matti Latvala on Friday’s repeat loop of stages.

But Loeb warned it was too early in the event to be thinking about tactical driving. Despite having a 22 second lead over Championship leader Mikko Hirvonen, Loeb said that the situation could change on the repeat pass, so he had no option but to keep pushing.

“It’s not really possible for me to plan anything today,” said Loeb. “At the moment we have a good lead on Mikko, and in the championship he is my most important rival. But in Sardinia it was the same and then he came back, so I’d prefer to keep him behind. Now if I lift off a bit he’s coming back, closing the gap.”

On the subject of road position Loeb acknowledged that Latvala, as fourth car through the stages, had the upper hand when it came to manipulating the running order on Saturday.

“If Latvala wants to run behind me tomorrow, then he’s the latest to have the times, so he can do it,” said Loeb. “So there’s no reason for me to think too much about it - it’s too complicated and I might make a mistake driving like this.”