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Sebastien Loeb has been mobbed like Jesus on Rallye de France Alsace, but he's not going to go all-out for victory on his home event, however much his disciples might want him to.
In fact, he doesn’t care where he finishes at all - as long as it’s ahead of his Citroen team-mate Mikko Hirvonen: his only opposition for the FIA World Rally Championship.
“The only person I’m bothered about is Mikko, he is the only rival I have and I’m not too bothered about the others,” said Loeb, who had to clamber over the bonnet of his recce car to get in while doing the recce for the Haguenau stage earlier this week, such were the crowds around him.
“If I can win the rally it’s obviously better, but I’m really not going to risk everything to do this,” he added. “If I’m in a close fight with Latvala, for example, and the others are far behind I can finish second, no problem. There’s no obligation to win so I will see how I feel.”
Worryingly for his rivals though, the Frenchman pointed out that he didn’t necessarily have to try and win in order to take a victory.
“I ended up winning in Finland and Germany while being in the same frame of mind, so we’ll just see what happens,” he explained. “Some people say that I need to win because it’s the last time I’m coming here but that’s not true. There is a certain pressure and we want to do well but with time and experience I’ve learned to manage that pressure so now it’s fine.”
For the moment, Loeb doesn’t have to think about it at all because he has a lead of 13.1s starting Saturday’s stages - but even if he didn’t, it’s not the end of the world. Even for an eight-time world champion, winning isn’t everything.
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