Questions raised about Loeb lead

Sebastien Loeb is driving his heart out at the head of the field to try and clinch his first World Rally Championship event win but there is a possible cloud on the young Frenchman’s horizon.

On last night’s final stage in the Germany rally, he overshot a junction.

Though he regained the road and continued with only a few seconds time loss, Subaru team management are believed to have asked the organisers to investigate.

If rally officials decide that Loeb took an incorrect route on the stage, he could be robbed of his place and possibly even excluded.

Subaru and Citroen have locked horns already once this season.

At January’s Monte Carlo Rally, Citroen appealed a time penalty for an illegal tyre change and denied Subaru’s Tommi Makinen the right to celebrate his 24th World Rally Championship victory while Loeb enjoyed the title of provisional winner for four days before Citroen withdrew their appeal.

For the moment, Loeb is concentrating on fending off the attentions of world rally champion Richard Burns, the Peugeot driver from Britain, in a frantic scrap for victory.

Burns is just over 13 seconds behind after special stage 19 but has, however, seen off the challenge of his Finnish team-mate Marcus Gronholm who spun twice on the opening stage.

“That’s enough for me,” Gronholm said. “It’s best that I slow down now to make sure that I finish and let the two youngsters take the risks. Better to lose two points to Richard than leave her with nothing.”

Four stages remain. Today’s first three stages are repeated before the final test (a repeat of the St Wendel superspecial) decides the outcome – unless the stewards decide to get in on the act.