Response: Why has Loeb been so dominant?

Sebastien Loeb has been in a class of his own this year and now looks poised to win the drivers' title for the third year running. Indeed he is only two victories away from surpassing Carlos Sainz and becoming the most successful driver ever in the history of the FIA World Rally Championship in terms of event wins.

So what better time to ask: just why is he so good?

What follows is what some of you had to say...

What we asked:

Why has Loeb been so dominant?

Can the Frenchman take the title for the third time this year?

Just why is he so good?

Is he poised to become the 'Michael Schumacher' of the WRC?

What you said...

"Seb has been so dominant because, this year, he benefited from errors made by other drivers - Gronholm rolling and Petter Solberg suffering punctures in Mexico, Gronholm's turbo failure in Spain, Gronholm's differential failure in Argentina and Gronholm's damage in Sardinia.

"But at the same time, his super flawless driving (minus any rare errors) proves the old phrase: 'To finish first, first you have to finish'.

"At the moment, I believe he will retain his title and he has turned into the Schumacher of the WRC. That is proved by the fact he won six rallies in 2004 and increased on that in 2005 winning ten rallies. Seb is the marker for everyone else, and I don't see anyone else stopping unless he suffers some mechanical problems."

Thomas Brisbourne (18) - United Kingdom

"All the key factors are in Loeb's favour at present and have been for some time. The Citroen may not always be the fastest car this year but it remains by far the most reliable. Though he can usually match anyone for outright speed his main talent lies in an unmatched ability to keep the car on the road. In a championship that rewards consistency the need to win events is now outweighed by a requirement to bring the car home nearly every time. In this area Loeb is simply unrivalled

"The general demise of Subaru and the fragility of the Ford in the hands of the occasionally wayward Gronholm, leave Loeb standing clear as the only man with both speed and consistency.

"With Citroen due to return to a factory backed effort next season only a major revival at Subaru, or Ford and Gronholm greatly improving their consistency will stop Loeb taking four titles on the bounce.

"Rather than being the Michael Schumacher of WRC, Loeb is more a Valentino Rossi figure: virtually unbeatable, hardly ever makes a mistake and looks set to lock down the title for an awful long time."

John Brownlie (30) - United Kingdom

"I am a big Petter Solberg supporter and I feel that there are three reasons why Sebastian has been so lucky.

"1. He has an extremely reliable car that hardly ever gives mechanical problems. I wish that Subaru would use the same car for two seasons instead of spending whole year getting one model perfect and just when things are going well they change to a new car and the teething problems start all over again.

"2. Sebastian is a very good driver, no question about that. But it seems that on a Friday he is prepared to take things easy, knowing that Marcus or Petter will either have mechanical problems or bad luck that will drop them out of contention, and he can then come along and take the maximum 10 points.

"3. He has been incredibly lucky for most of the season - no other driver would have been allowed to get back to service like he did in Greece. Petter would certainly have been stopped by police and been forced to retire. OK, I am slightly biased towards Petter here, but I think everyone will agree ha has had more than his share of 'bad luck' and as for Pirelli, I don't think I need to say anymore..."

Eileen Casey (28) - Ireland

"Sebastien is very, very lucky this season - with Marcus going out in Argentina, in Mexico with Petter's troubles. Its lucky, lucky Loeb this year. He is a good driver and he has a good car. They say it is not a factory car - it is, he has support from Citroen France. Loeb has the best co-driver, but if Petter and Marcus were in good cars and then we would see a big fight between those three boys. Loeb you are a lucky guy this season."

Harold van Beek - Netherlands

"I think Loeb's experience in gymnastics taught him superb focus. That has helped him avoid mistakes and be very accurate. Like Mick Doohan [the five-time MotoGP 500cc champion] used to, he keeps his game face on all the time so his mind normally rests in race-focus mode. This intense drive to win precludes showboating and thus he takes the most efficient line in corners (instead of hanging it out to the fans' delight)."

Will C. (29) - USA

"First: Loeb has the luck of the devil. If you look at all the rallies from the last one back you will see that he, for example, has passed over rocks were every other driver broke their suspensions. He doesn't though, he goes off and there is magically a road to get on the stage again and so on. Cases like these are the norm with him.

"Second: the car is absolutely brilliant, its build like a tank: no brake problems, no gearbox failures, no differentials issues, engine blow-ups etc, etc. It is like the Mitsubishi that Tommi Makinen enjoyed in the late 1990s and which worked like Swiss clock for four-years, while all the other cars broke.

"Third: BF Goodrich have the best tyres, not so the Pirelli's of Solberg - those tyres s**k, so much that even a supermarket trolley shouldn't have them!

"Loeb is fast, OK, but Solberg and Gronholm are faster, but they suffer all that Loeb does not."

Maximiliano Rios (23) - Chile

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