Lapworth downplays Loeb's speed

Loeb finished second in the event, a minute behind winner Marcus Gronholm's Ford despite a five-minute penalty for missing SS6 due to a crash. Loeb won ten of the 16 stages held, while Subaru's lead driver Petter Solberg retired after the first leg with an oil pressure problem in the new Impreza.

However, Lapworth believes that Loeb's pace had more to do with the driver's ability at Monte Carlo than the Xsara's pace, and indicates that Solberg's performance compared to the rest of the field was strong enough for the Norwegian to be considered a title contender this season.

"It was a frustrating retirement," Lapworth told autosport.com. "And we've been conducing some dyno testing this week to check on the failure. We think the engine failure we had was an effect, rather than a cause, of an oil problem.

"We are just about where we thought we would be and we could have been on the podium in Monte Carlo. If you look at [Toni] Gardemeister, he got a podium with the speed of his tyres.

"I am not worried by Loeb's pace in Monte Carlo. If you look at our pace compared to Toni and the non-Loeb Citroen pace - we are not worried and still believe we can win the championship. Loeb's times were very specific to Monte."

However, Lapworth believes that reliability will be key to their title bid.

"Yes we have no points," he added. "But everyone will pick up one or two zero points scores through the year. We just have to make sure we don't pick up three or four zeros during the year.

"We can definitely win the title. I've seen nothing in Sebastien's pace to worry me."