Italy Rally - Triple world champion Sebastien Loeb hopes the handicap of running first will not hamper his tilt at a third straight Rally of Sardinia title this weekend.

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• Loeb not letting up

The Frenchman leads this year's standings by three points from Ford's Marcus Gronholm after claiming his fourth victory of the 2007 season in Argentina last time out.

A win this weekend in the season's seventh race would also give Loeb a fourth victory in a row this year.

The fine sandy gravel roads in Sardinia contrast with the sealed asphalt surfaces on many courses, which makes running order often important. Drivers who go early can lose time because of the loose dust on the road and they then leave a better surface for those coming later.

"It is a superb island and the stages are getting better all the time. I hope that will again be the case this year," Citreon driver Loeb told the World Rally website.

"As ever my approach will be simple. On the first day I will push hard to try to minimise the handicap of running first on the road and then see where we stand."

Half of the course is totally new this year, with the third leg in particular looking different. However, blind corners and narrow roads are still expected.

The three legs, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and 18 special stages make up the 342.86 kilometres course.

Subaru's Petter Solberg won in Italy in 2004 but he is enduring a tough season, languishing in fifth place in the overall standings.