Ari Vatanen tips Sebastien Loeb to set new Pikes Peak record
Former World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen has tipped Sebastien Loeb to set a new benchmark time for the Pikes Peak hillclimb this year

The nine-time WRC champion will compete in the unlimited class of this year's June 30 event, driving a Peugeot 208 T16.
It will be the Frenchman's first attempt at the now all-asphalt 12.42-mile climb.
"Seb will make a record which will not be broken for a long time," said Vatanen, who won the event while also driving a Peugeot in 1988.
"As Americans might say: 'it will be awesome.' Light-heartedly, I say that he had to wait until the course was all Tarmac before he could beat my own record."
Loeb, who will drive the 850bhp, 850kg Peugeot designed specifically for the event, will not be hindered by a lack of experience according to Vatanen.
"It won't be a problem for him to remember the road," said the 1981 world champion, "but he will have to find the very special commitment needed for this hill climb.
"You cannot drive this road on the limit, you always need to have a little bit in reserve, a margin for error.
"If you do go off, then let's say the run off is going to be very soft for a while but there will be a very heavy landing waiting for you!"

AUTOSPORT races a Radical and tries F4
Peugeot reveals full spec of Loeb's 875bhp, 875kg Pikes Peak T16

Latest news
Rating the best drivers of the century so far
Autosport's Top 50 feature has been a staple of the magazine for the past two decades since its first appearance in 2002. Here are the drivers that have featured most prevalently during that time
The best motorsport moments of 2021
Motorsport produced one of its greatest years of all-time in 2021 despite a backdrop of ongoing COVID-19 challenges and an ever-changing racing landscape. Through the non-stop action Autosport has collected the finest moments from the past 12 months to highlight the incredible drama and joy motorsport generates
The racing comeback artists who resurrected long-dormant careers
Making it in motorsport can be tough, and sometimes drivers move elsewhere before their best chance arrives. Here are some of those who made it back
The hidden racing gem attracting ex-F1 heroes
It’s rarely mentioned when it comes to assessing the best national contests, but the Brazilian Stock Car series that reaches its climax this weekend has an ever-growing appeal. Its expanding roster of ex-Formula 1 names has helped to draw in new fans, but it's the closeness of competition that keeps them watching
The one-time Schumacher rival rebooting his career Down Under
Joey Mawson made waves in the middle of the last decade, beating future Haas Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher - among other highly-rated talents - to the 2016 German F4 title. A run in F1's feeder GP3 category only caused his career to stall, but now back in Australia Mawson's S5000 title success has set that to rights
The lesson football’s would-be wreckers could learn from racing
OPINION: The greed-driven push for a European Super League that threatened to tear football apart is collapsing at the seams. Motor racing's equivalent, the football-themed Superleague Formula series of 2008-11, was everything that the proposed ESL never could be
The F1 and Indy 'nearly man' that found contentment in Japan
Having had the door to F1 slammed in his face and come within three laps of winning the Indianapolis 500, the collapse of a Peugeot LMP1 shot meant Japan was Bertrand Baguette's last chance of a career. But it's one which he has grasped with both hands
The female all-rounder who arrived "too early"
From Formula 3 to truck racing, Dakar and EuroNASCAR via a winning stint in the DTM, there's not much Ellen Lohr hasn't seen in a stellar racing career that highlights the merit in being a generalist. But she believes her career came too early...