Zoom Loix leading the way in Belgium

Peugeot Belgium driver Freddy Loix was quickest at the pre-rally shakedown in the village of Nieuwkerke - but only by 0.4 seconds from Peugeot Italy´s Luca Rossetti...

The shakedown test is normally routine, but it got off to a dramatic start when Bernd Casier crashed his Volkswagen Polo Super 2000 into a house as a result of a slow puncture.

Both he and co-driver Frederic Miclotte were uninjured, but the Belgian VW Club mechanics face a race against time to get the car ready for the start at 17:25 tonight.

They feel confident that they can do it, and Casier has promised not to let this early setback affect him.

"There was a corner where everybody was picking up punctures," he explained. "We must have had a puncture as well, and that caused me to lose control of the car at the next corner. It's unfortunate, but I'm still confident that we can do a good job on the rally. "

Conditions were dry and warm at the shakedown, allowing Loix to set a quick time without pushing too hard.

"There's no point in going crazy on the shakedown," he said. "There's a very tricky rally ahead of us, and the point is just to check that we have a good general set-up, which I believe we have."

Nonetheless, Loix says that his tactic for the rally is simple. "We have to go flat-out from the start," he said. "We've had some quite bad luck on the championship so far, so we need to try and get a win."

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