Things are returning to the tarmac circuits of Spain as the WRC Calendar heads to the Rally de Espana. A favoured hunting ground for defending champion Sebastien Loeb, the Rally de Espana holds particular interest in the minds of the Frenchman as he looks to take back the lead of the championship race from Mikko Hirvonen. 
Along with teammate Dani Sordo, Loeb is considered to be a hot favourite to win the rally especially since he is known to favour tarmac circuits as compared to Hirvonen who was thriving in the dust and gravel through the middle of the calendar.
If the Rally Shakedown is anything to go by, then Sebastien Loeb’s fastest time at the pre-event 4-hour shakedown is an ominous sign to Hirvonen’s championship hopes of winning the title this season. Although Hirvonen was confident of a strong showing in the coming rallies, there is little chance of him upstaging Loeb who stands as the clear favourite with odds of 1.18 favouring his win.
Dani Sordo is considered to be the next in line as the favourite for the race win. The Spaniard has been clearly third-best in the season so far but has a lot of potential on tarmac. Driving in his home rally will be interesting as Sordo will look to make up a lot of lost points especially against Hirvonen who is expected to struggle. 
Norwegian driver and 2003 World Champion Petter Solberg looked in wonderful mood with a fourth place finish on the shakedown. However, the privateer entry to the Rally De Espana is hopeful that despite having not driven on Tarmac since Corsica, he is likely to put up a good showing.
A surprise performance, at the shakedown, came from Sebastien Ogier of the junior section of the Citroen Total World Rally Team. One second off Loeb’s time, Ogier finished above Dani Sordo and Petter Solberg to bring an incredible four Citroen C4 WRCs at the top of the shakedown finish.
Hirvonen was fifth in the standings, a full 2.5 seconds behind Loeb’s time. Sordo is the second favourite to win the rally with odds of 6.00 favouring a win on his preferred track surface.
Despite being the championship leader at this point in the season, Hirvonen is the current favourite to win the title with odds of 1.65 while Loeb stands at 2.10. However, if the coming tarmac races, Loeb’s hunger to win and his unimaginable ability on the surface is anything to go by, chances are that those odds will be upended sooner rather than later,.