Loeb "sorry" to be replacing Breen in Mexico

Nine-time WRC champion Loeb is tackling three rounds of this year’s series – next month’s Rally Mexico as well as Corsica and Spain later in the year.

He will drive the French firm’s second C3 WRC in place of Breen, who scored his career-best WRC result by taking second place last time out in Sweden.

Asked about Breen’s position, Loeb told Motorsport.com: “It must be frustrating for him.

"He did a really good rally in Sweden, but on the other side I don’t decide anything. Citroen proposed me a few rallies, I’m sorry that I am taking his car, but it’s like that.”

Citroen is only funding two factory cars on each WRC round this season. Khalid Al-Qassimi will drive a C3 WRC on selected outings as a partner to the team and Mads Ostberg paid for his outing in Sweden.

The decision to run a two-car team was taken by PSA chief Carlos Tavares, who denied swapping Loeb for Breen was a contravention of the firm’s lauded young driver development programme.

“Loeb is a member of our family,” Tavares told Motorsport.com. “He [Breen] is out of the car for three rallies, not six or seven.”

Loeb returns to a gravel-specification World Rally Car for the first time since 2012 early next month.

He conducted a two-day test in Almeria, Spain recently to prepare. Loeb admits he’s as intrigued as anybody to find out where his pace will be.

“I don’t know if I will be in the rhythm,” Loeb said. “For sure I know I will have a good position on the road and that will help me on the first day, but for the rest, it’s really difficult to make any plan.

“It’s too long that I didn’t drive in this level of rallying: six years and I didn’t do a gravel rally. I am curious to know after the first stages how I am.”