Loeb anxious about cautious strategy

The reigning world champion only needs to finish fifth in the season finale to take this year's title if Marcus Gronholm wins the event, and Loeb has already said that he is not interested in fighting for the rally victory.

The Citroen driver added on Thursday that he will be cautious from the start of the rally, something which he says he has never done before.

"Normally when I start I want to go as fast as possible and go for the victory," said Loeb. "It's not exactly the same here, maybe it will be a very long rally for me.

"I know that to fight for the victory would be a bit stupid in my situation, to take all the risks to win here and then lose everything.

"I will have to find a good rhythm, to be confident in the car. That's not the most easy thing to do."

Loeb added that the difficult conditions that he is expecting will mean that he has to take care from the start, especially as he will be first on the road on Friday having retaken the championship lead in Ireland.

"We had difficult conditions in the recce, there was a lot of mud, and a lot of grip changes," added Loeb. "Anything can happen and I will have to be careful."

Rally GB was one of the rounds that Loeb missed last year after breaking his arm in a cycling accident, but he does not believe that will affect his chances in Wales this season.

"I don't think it will be a problem that I missed last year's event, because the stages have been the same for a few years, so that's okay."