Loeb uncertain of return date

Frenchman Loeb was on the verge of clinching a third consecutive championship, leading Finland's Marcus Gronholm by 35 points with four races remaining, when he fell off his mountain bike during physical training.

"How soon I will return will depend on how it all develops and for the moment, it's impossible to say," Loeb told French sports daily L'Equipe in an interview on Wednesday.

"When you drive in rallies all year, you don't imagine that you can put your career at risk by riding a bike, but that's part of my physical preparation."

Loeb will definitely miss next week's Turkish Rally, with Britain's Colin McRae stepping in to replace him for the Kronos Citroen team.

McRae, the 1995 world champion with Subaru and winner of 25 rallies, was Loeb's teammate at Citroen in 2003 but lost his place at the end of that year.

"Of all the drivers who were available, Colin is the one who has the best record, the greatest experience and who's also probably the fastest," Loeb said.

"Another important trump card is that he knows the car well."

McRae's last world rally appearance was at the end of 2005 with Skoda, when he competed in two events and briefly ran second in Australia.

"Of course he has lost touch with the championship because he has not driven for a while but I think he was the best possible choice," Loeb said.

Loeb said he was still hoping to win the championship.

"As long as I won't be there, it will be easier for Marcus (Gronholm) to win rallies. That said, if he has the slightest problem, he could be out of it without me having to get involved," Loeb added.

"And Colin, whose priority will be to win points to secure the constructors' title, could also be putting pressure on Marcus. That would be great".