Nick Koan
06-27-2005, 09:18 AM
Full Story (http://www.wrc.com/page/BreakingNewsDetail/0,,10111~677969,00.html) from wrc.com (http://www.wrc.com/)
Reigning World Champion Sebastien Loeb says he's more interested in the points his fifth win in a row have earned him and his Citroen team than in the record for consecutive World Rally Championship wins that his triumph on the Acropolis has established. Loeb is now 23 points clear in the battle for this year's drivers' crown.
After eight of the season's 16 rallies, Loeb is six points further clear of the pack and his closest rival, Subaru's Petter Solberg, than he was at the same stage in last year's title winning-campaign. His Acropolis win and Carlos Sainz's third place have also moved Citroen ahead of Peugeot at the top of the manufacturers' championship points.
"[The record] isn't the most important thing," he said. "That's the result for me in the drivers' championship and for Citroen in the manufacturers' championship. It was tough because being first on road was tricky. Marcus Gronholm was very quick. For me it was a different race after Marcus dropped back. Until then Marcus had been quick enough for me to have to push. When he wasn't there it was clear things would be quite different. The car in general was fantastic, and there were no problems."
The Frenchman is also understandably upbeat about his chances of securing a second consecutive world title. "It's looking better than it did," he said, "but already it was looking good. However we certainly can't conclude anything so we have to keep on pushing."
Reigning World Champion Sebastien Loeb says he's more interested in the points his fifth win in a row have earned him and his Citroen team than in the record for consecutive World Rally Championship wins that his triumph on the Acropolis has established. Loeb is now 23 points clear in the battle for this year's drivers' crown.
After eight of the season's 16 rallies, Loeb is six points further clear of the pack and his closest rival, Subaru's Petter Solberg, than he was at the same stage in last year's title winning-campaign. His Acropolis win and Carlos Sainz's third place have also moved Citroen ahead of Peugeot at the top of the manufacturers' championship points.
"[The record] isn't the most important thing," he said. "That's the result for me in the drivers' championship and for Citroen in the manufacturers' championship. It was tough because being first on road was tricky. Marcus Gronholm was very quick. For me it was a different race after Marcus dropped back. Until then Marcus had been quick enough for me to have to push. When he wasn't there it was clear things would be quite different. The car in general was fantastic, and there were no problems."
The Frenchman is also understandably upbeat about his chances of securing a second consecutive world title. "It's looking better than it did," he said, "but already it was looking good. However we certainly can't conclude anything so we have to keep on pushing."