“We will only be able to do two passes in recce, so we will need to be particularly focused when making our pacenotes. All the terrains we visit in the course of the World Championship have their own specific features, so it is important to try to get a feel for the stages and their potential pitfalls,” said Loeb.
“This is vital if you want to reach the finish in a strong position. The fewer corrections you need to make to your notes once the event has started, the easier it is! As usual, I will try to find the pace at which I feel the most comfortable to begin with, and then see where we stand compared with the opposition,” added the reigning WRC champion.
However, unlike many of the WRC field, Loeb will not come to Poland for the first time, as the Citroen driver – alongside Dani Sordo – did a few tests on the roads near Mikolajki earlier this year. Having tackled the stages in both dry and wet conditions, the Frenchman gave us a glimpse of how the rally will look like this weekend.
“It's a bit like Finland, but narrower, and with fewer jumps. The surface is softer, too, with a high number of sandy portions. I like sandy conditions and I think it has the makings of being a great event,” added Loeb.
The reigning world champion is currently leading the overall classification, some 7 points ahead of nearest rival Mikko Hirvonen. After winning 5 out of 5 events this year, Loeb scored only 5 points in the last two rallies – having crashed out of Rally Greece two weekends ago – and now feels the pressure in the title race.
“That obviously puts additional pressure on our shoulders. Our season got off to a flying start, but the last two rallies haven't gone quite so well. It would be a pity to throw everything away,” concluded Loeb.
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