Hyundai’s Loeb shifts focus to Rallye Vosges

The loyalties of Hyundai Motorsport fans will be divided this weekend when Sebastien Loeb heads to the Vosges - Grande Est Rally in France, leaving his colleagues in the eighth round of the WRC in the Italian Rally of Sardegna.

The nine-times world champion is delighted to compete on the Alsatian roads he grew up in, while Thierry Neuville, Dani Sordo and Andreas Mikkelsen tackle the harsh inland tracks of Alghero on the Italian island of Sardinia.

While Loeb's WRC program for the second half of the season has yet to be decided, he will tackle the French national event this weekend and the Alba Rally in Italy at the end of July. Drive both events in an i20 World Rally Car with factory specifications.

Loeb said: "It's a real pleasure to return to the French Rally Championship and be able to drive in my region, where everything started." I am eager to find it and find special scenarios like Pays d'Ormont.

"We're going to gain experience with the team and kilometers with the car and to please the fans."

Loeb enjoyed some of his best WRC moments in the Alsace region, memorably winning the 2010 world title and celebrating with friends and family in his hometown of Haguenau.

Hyundai Motorsport director Andrea Adamo said Loeb's nationwide departures were a great way to spread the word for the Korean manufacturer.

He said: "Loeb in Vosges will be a great image for Hyundai France, which has already activated this program a lot." We will have many guest co-drivers in Shakedown and we bring many guests to the rally. "

Loeb is scheduled to play six WRC rounds with Hyundai this season. The Vodafone Rally of Portugal earlier this month was his fifth outing.

Meanwhile, why change a winning formula? That is the message of the organizers of the Rally Italia Sardegna, whose route for the eighth round of the WRC this week follows a popular format in the north of the island.

Tiziano Siviero, who won the world titles of 1988 and 1999 along with his compatriot Miki Biasion, is the man behind the itinerary and explained his thinking to make only minor changes to the route.

"We decided to confirm the itinerary of the last three editions because they are homogeneous, easy to execute and complied with the appreciation of the drivers and teams," he explained.

Easy to execute, maybe, but far from easy to drive. The narrow and fast gravel roads bordered by rocks leave no room for error. The sand tracks give way to the bottom rock and the large furrows when they repeat, and the air temperatures above 30 ° C make life difficult for drivers, cars and tires.

The rally starts on Thursday night at the Ittiri Arena Show Stage, on an old motocross track where two cars take two laps simultaneously.

The action becomes serious on Friday morning, with four stages to the northeast of the Alghero service park that are repeated in the afternoon.

Tula (22.25 km), considered the most difficult test of the weekend, and Castelsardo (14.72 km) contain minor changes. Tergu-Osilo (14.14km) and Monte Baranta (10.99km) raise the day's total to 124.20km.