World champion Sebastien Loeb is
likely to restart his World Rally Championship (WRC) title campaign
in next month's Rally of New Zealand, organizers said Wednesday.
France's Loeb is the top seed for the rally, penultimate round of
the WRC, to be staged in the north of New Zealand's North Island
from Nov. 16-19.
The Citroen driver was coasting toward his third world rally
title until he broke his arm in a mountain bike accident near his
home in Switzerland last month.
He missed last week's Rally of Turkey, giving Ford rival Marcus
Gronholm the chance to reduce the margin at the top of the drivers'
series to 25 points.
Loeb is expected to miss the next WRC round in Australia next
week, before meeting Gronholm's challenge in New Zealand.
``I know that Marcus has an opportunity,'' Loeb said in a
statement. ``I will do my best to come back to New Zealand to win
the championship.''
The Rally of New Zealand will be staged on mostly gravel roads in
the Waikato district of New Zealand's North Island.
