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Loeb looks at the bigger picture

World Rally Championship asphalt maestro Sebastien Loeb has played down his chances of winning this weekend's Rallye de France in Corsica, and says he is focused on scoring points to aid his title bid rather than going all-out for victory

Loeb has already won all three previous sealed surface rallies - Monte Carlo, Germany and Sanremo - in his Citroen Xsara, which has helped him to second in the title race, just two points behind series leader Richard Burns of Peugeot. But despite hailing from France, he says Corsica will include a learning curve for him this weekend.

"I effectively don't have that much experience of Corsica and I have never competed there with the Xsara WRC," said Loeb. "That said, the stages I know, I like. I feel comfortable with them. Having to take notes from scratch for a third of the route and never to have driven any of the new roads at rally speeds is clearly a bit stressful. But then it's the same for everyone, and if that makes it a bit more of a level playing field, then it's positive for me."

Loeb says that he will drive with one eye on the title this weekend, and won't risk everything to score another rally victory.

"[Citroen motorsport boss] Guy Fréquelin says that to win the title, it's preferable to finish all three of the rallies to come," said Loeb. "And he's right. In Sanremo, I managed to run in front without taking the risk of throwing it all away. I hope I will succeed in finding the same pace in Corsica."

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