Not quite the way to start your quest for victory in one of the blue riband events in the motor sport calendar, even if you have won the World Rally Championship five times in a row.

Sébastien Loeb arrived in Britain for the start of the Wales Rally GB to discover ice and snow in the forests where he will attempt to set another record to add to his catalogue of achievement. The British round of the World Rally Championship is the only one of the “classic” rallies that Loeb has not won on his way to becoming, arguably, the most complete rally driver in the world.

But he found out how difficult it will be within hours of setting off on a reconnaissance of the treacherous Welsh forest tracks on Tuesday, crashing his car on the Myherin stage. According to reports, his “recce” car slid down a bank and rolled on to its roof. Thankfully, Loeb and Daniel Elena, his co-driver, were not injured but it was a reminder of the perils that lie ahead when the cars are flagged away today. Loeb is under no illusions, even though he has won a record ten rallies this year to take the drivers' title in the most emphatic style. “This is a rally I have never won for a variety of reasons and I would dearly love to win it one day,” he said. “The atmosphere here is always very special, particularly on the stages where we run in the semi-darkness.”

The Frenchman said that he is prepared to put his ambitions on hold this weekend to help Citroën to maintain their 11-point lead over Ford as they look to win the manufacturers' championship. “Winning won't be our priority this time around,” he said. “Winning the manufacturers' championship for Citroën is important and we will do everything we can to make that happen.”

But there will be a glint in his eye when he looks up and down the field and soaks up the enthusiasm of the tens of thousands of spectators, who have bucked the credit crunch to help to make this Wales Rally GB a spectacular finish to the season, even though Loeb wrapped up the title a month ago. The 34-year-old came third in the previous round in Sapporo, Japan to prevent Mikko Hirvonen, of Finland, from catching him.

Although world rallying does not capture the imagination in the way that it once did in this country, ticket sales are up and British fans are some of the sport's most dedicated, with as many as 25,000 expected at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff for the show stage tomorrow. Tens of thousands more will make their way into the forests whether it hails, rains or snows to watch some extraordinary driving on tracks lined by trees and boulders. The absence of a British title contender is a significant factor in the decline in rallying's popularity, particularly since the deaths of Colin McRae, the 1995 world champion, and Richard Burns, who won in 2001.

But Wales is exacting and fiercely dangerous: Michael Park, one of the world's top co-drivers, was killed on the final leg in 2005 when the Peugeot he shared with Markko Martin hit a tree - a stark reminder that rallying is not for the faint-hearted.

And the British round has provided some of the most exciting finishes in rallying history, as Loeb knows to his cost. In 2003, an extraordinary championship went down to the final stage of the last rally of the season, Loeb losing out by one point to Petter Solberg, the Norwegian driving for Subaru, in the last few exhausting minutes.

Loeb might maintain that he is not worried about winning this year, but that defeat five years ago is fresh in his memory and he is more than aware that Wales is unfinished business for the most successful rally driver of all time.

Wales Rally GB timetable

Today

9am - First cars on Stage 1, Hafren
4pm - Gates open at Swansea Marina service park
6pm - First world rally cars arrive at service park
6.30pm - Children in Need auction, live music

Tomorrow

7am - Gates open at Swansea service park
7.20am - First cars leave Swansea service park
8.18am - First stage, Resolfen
4pm - Doors open at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, for two special stages
5pm - Entertainment starts and live rally stage
7.23pm - Cars return to Swansea service park

Sunday

6.30am - Gates open at Swansea service park
7am - Cars arrive
7.55am - First stage, Rheola
1pm - Live music at Swansea service park and cars arrive for final time
2.56pm - Ceremonial finish

Further information at: walesrallygb.com

Drivers' Championship leading positions

1, *S Loeb (Fr, Citroën) 112pts
2, M Hirvonen (Fin, Ford) 102
3, D Sordo (Sp, Citroën) 59
*Loeb won championship after fourteenth round

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