First of all, that would mean Loeb will have to race hard on Friday and therefore risk a crash, as his Citroen C4s behavior on gravel-spec tires in the asphalt stages will not be at its best. Although spectacular for the spectators, the Friday stages will pose the risk of several punctures from the WRC cars.
Secondly, driving fast and ending the first day on top of the timing sheets would lead to the first run on Saturday's stages, all ran on gravel. And opening the dusty roads on Day 2 is definitely not an option for Loeb either.
“It's a shame to have only done things by half. We will be competing on asphalt with ill-suited brakes, tires and suspension. The balance of our C4 WRC is still very good with this set-up, but we are aware that we will need to look after our tires to avoid punctures. It will probably be nice for the spectators to see the cars sliding, but I don't think it will be all that stimulating for the drivers,” said Loeb.
“The fact that we are starting the weekend on asphalt won't encourage us to attack, either. What will be the point in being first overall on Friday evening. That will mean facing road sweeping duty on the next day's loose stages? That said, this is not a strategy we will be able to afford to adopt because we will be starting the weekend first on the road,” added the French ace.
Citroen Total has also announced changed liveries to debut on their C4 WRCs during the Cyprus event. The French team will target their 50th win in the WRC on the mixed-surface event in Cyprus this weekend.
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