Loeb 'unlikely' to race at Petit Le Mans

The five-time World Rally Champion was granted permission to blend development and potential race driving for Peugeot with his Citroen rally commitments this season, but it seems he will not compete in the French firm's Le Mans winner in 2009.

Loeb, who spent two days testing the 908 at Mugello in Italy last week, said he was scheduled to drive in the Asian Le Mans Series race at Shanghai in November, before the event was cancelled.

"Nothing is down for me to race in Petit Le Mans this year, so I don't think I will race the car this year," said Loeb.

"I did test in Italy. It went very well. I drove a little bit on the first day, just to find out a little bit more about the circuit and then I did a full day of testing on the next day.

"It wasn't just a day of driving for me to enjoy myself, it was a development test. I tested a few things on the car and worked with the engineers, giving them my impression of the car and how some modifications would change the set-up. It was a great experience."

Despite the fact that Loeb will not use Petit Le Mans to gain circuit racing experience, there remains speculation that he will contest the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for Toro Rosso team.

In the meantime, Loeb will attempt to rediscover his WRC winning form on Rally Australia. Despite winning the first five rounds, Loeb hasn't topped the podium since Rally Argentina in May and now trails Ford's Mikko Hirvonen by three points heading into the final three rallies of the season.