Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, who are unbeaten so far this WRC season, will be looking to extend their existing record of six consecutive wins on this week’s Rally d'Italia Sardegna - a result which would be a record-breaker for them and their Citroen Team.
Despite retiring from this event in 2007 after hitting a rock, previous wins in 2005, 2006 and 2008 (plus a win in SanRemo in 2003) make Loeb the pre-start favourite. On top of that, last month's Rally Argentina saw the five-time World Champion take his current sequence of straight wins to six, which equals his previous record notched up between the Rallies of New Zealand and Argentina in 2005.
Another success in Italy would see him raise the bar higher still. "My desire to win is the same at the start of every rally," warned Loeb. "I hate losing, so I am obviously delighted with the way things are going at the moment. Every win we have scored so far this year has simply added to the flying start we have enjoyed to the 2009 season."
Victory this week for Sebastien - or his team-mate Dani Sordo - would also establish another WRC record for Citroen. A seventh successive win for the French manufacturer would break the existing record of six shared jointly by Lancia (in 1987/88) and Mitsubishi (in 1998/1999).

One aspect of the rally which might cause Loeb some problems, however, is the roadsweeping effect of running as first car through Friday’s stages.
"I would even say it is probably the event where road order has the biggest influence," he acknowledged. "The ground is very hard-packed, but it is covered in a deep top-coating of sand. There are enormous differences in the times of the drivers who are first and second on the road. Friday will probably be a bit of a weird day regarding the way the classification goes, but we feel confident we can handle the situation..."

Loeb’s team-mates Dani Sordo and Marc Marti moved up to second place in the Drivers' standings after Rally Argentina, and intend to do their utmost to defend their position against their main threat - Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen - who trails by one point. "I see this round as a big test following my fifth place on last year's event. That wasn't such a great result for me," admits the Spaniard. "This season is a bit special because I sense I am making progress on all the different types of surface we encounter in the championship. If I can keep that up in Sardinia, I think I will be able to take the fight to Mikko. Being second in the championship hasn't changed my approach in any way, but it's true that I would like to hold on to second place..."