Autoblog

If we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times -- bicycling is dangerous. Possibly even more dangerous than piloting a turbo-charged, all-wheel-drive hatch through the tree-lined corridors of a World Rally Championship stage. We meant to leave this little nugget of information on Sebastian Loeb's answering machine, but alas, we were too late. The Citroen hot shoe broke his arm during a cycling accident and is unable to drive his Xsara in the World Rally of Turkey this October 12-15. A pity really, as Loeb is currently in first place for the driver's championship, towering over his nearest competitor with a 35-point lead.

Citroen however has called out the big guns, in the form of ex-racer extraordinaire Colin McRae and long-time co-pilot Nicky Grist. The three-time World Rally champion will pilot the Xsara during the race in Turkey, although his participation in future races has not been ruled out.

We know McRae is still on top of his game, with his last run in the WRC back in 2005 for Skoda and his recent antics competing in the X-Games, it's evident that he is in top form. Rumors are also beginning to circulate that he may make a full-time return to the WRC in 2007.

[Source: Channel 4 and WRC.com]