Sébastien Loeb after SS16: ‘It’s impossible for me to catch Mikko’

Although he edged two seconds closer to Mikko Hirvonen’s rally lead on SS16, Sebastien Loeb says the Finn’s 15.3sec is too much to make up through driving alone on the 32 kilometres which remain.

Ahead of the repeat pass through the 29km Whaanga Coast section, Loeb said his target now was the second place of Hirvonen’s team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala, who lies 5.5sec ahead.

"We made some changes to the diff settings in service and, okay, we had a good drive but it’s not enough," he said. "The grip in that stage was much better; the road is cleaning, but it was the same for everyone. We lost the opportunity to take more time this morning. If Mikko makes no mistakes then it’s impossible for me to take victory. We’ll try to catch Jari-Matti; that will be difficult enough."

Latvala acknowledged that the pressure was on. "The next stage is very important but very tough too," he said. "I can’t go any quicker. I certainly can’t catch Mikko, but I’ll do all I can to keep the two Citroen’s behind."

Potos on automobilsport.com under PHOTOS - WRC RALLYES