With a new car introduced at the 2018 World RX of Sweden, Sebastien Loeb was hopeful of an improved performance however it didn’t work out that way.

After testing at the Riga circuit in Latvia during the seasons mid-summer break to further enhance the latest spec of the Peugeot 208 WRX, The French driver is hoping to kickstart his campaign in the second half of the season.

“Even though Sweden was the very first outing for the Peugeot 208 WRX EVO, we still expected something slightly better. It’s not easy, but that’s rallycross!” explained Loeb

“Our test in Riga was good: the car was working well, and I had a good feeling too. We’ve worked very hard on the set-up and the results seem promising. Of course, it’s hard to draw any firm conclusions because it was just testing, but in Riga we were in front a lot of the time – and it’s always better to be in front rather than behind!”

As the 2018 FIA World Rallycross Championship gets underway again this weekend with the World RX of Canada, The Team Peugeot Total driver knows what he has to do to get back on the podium.

“The goal for me in Canada is to confirm that progress and I think we can be in the fight for the win. But we’ve still got some progress to make when it comes to the starts, and that’s actually a key part of the challenge in Canada, which starts off with one of the longest straights of the year.”

“This means that you’ve got to get away well and have good acceleration. Last year, we were a bit lacking in engine power and so we were often behind at the first corner. This year, the race will be a good indication of our performance with the latest technical evolutions, especially when it comes to the engine. But we’ll only have the final verdict at Trois-Rivieres!”