Loeb likely to miss Rally GB

Loeb broke his arm in a mountain biking accident in September, a setback which forced him out of Rally of Australia but did not put the brakes on him claiming a third straight world title.

The Frenchman had planned to use the Great Britain rally on December 1-3 as his comeback event, but with little at stake and his arm still not fully set he has had a change of heart.

"As it stands today there is little chance of me taking part in the RAC (Great Britain) Rally," Loeb said after recceing the course for this weekend's New Zealand Rally.

"First of all there's nothing at stake with regard to the championship, and the various doctors I've seen have advised me that I really need three months to fully recover, so I won't be taking any risks. I don't want to suffer another injury from a crash or incident and have to start from zero again. It could potentially compromise my start to next season (which begins with the Monte Carlo rally on January 18-21)."

Loeb won the New Zealand Rally last year and took to the wheel on Wednesday with a view to next year's event which he will race in Citroen's new C4 WRC.

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