Sebastien Loeb

Sébastien Loeb (Haguenau, Alsace, February 26, 1974) is a French motor racing driver, whose racing career has developed primarily in rally competitions, being a nine-time World Championship champion. Rally from 2004 to 2012 consecutively with the Citroën World Rally Team, while in track competitions he participates with the same team and with his own Sébastien Loeb Racing team. He has also been second in the Dakar Rally in 2017 and 2022, and third in 2019.

In 2011 he became the most awarded driver in FIA motorsport history, when he won his eighth world rally title. He holds the record for titles in the World Rally Championship (WRC, for its acronym in English).) with nine championships, which he obtained consecutively from 2004 to 2012, as well as the records for victories in rally competitions with eighty, for podiums with one hundred and eighteen, and for stage victories with nine hundred so far. In his youth, Before dedicating himself to motorsports, he was regional gymnastics champion in Alsace.

His debut in rallying was in the 1997 Rally Critérium des Cévennes, a test of the French Rally Championship, and his first participation in the World Championship was in the 1999 Rally Catalunya. In addition to the world championship, he won the Championship of France Rally and the Junior World Rally Championship, both in 2001. His co-driver from the beginning of his career was the Monegasque Daniel Elena.

His debut on circuits was in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2005 with the Pescarolo team, which ended the race with abandonment by accident. A year later he returned to race in Le Mans with the same team and obtained the second place overall in the standings. In 2013 he took sixth place in the FIA GT Championship driving a McLaren car from his own team, after achieving four victories in the championship.

In addition to his two automotive specialties, he has participated in various competitions such as the Race of Champions, in which he took part seven times and placed in the final of each of them and to win three individual titles and one as a team. In 2012 he participated for the first time in the X Games in Los Angeles in the rallycross event and won the gold medal. In 2013 he participated in the Pikes Peak race, in the United States, where he set a new travel time and in the Scorpions Masters du Castellet motorcycle competition, in France, where he obtained thirteenth place. In 2014 and 2015 he participated in the World Touring Car Championship and between 2016 and 2018 in the World Rallycross Championship.

He resides in the Swiss canton of Vaud with his wife Séverine, who was his co-pilot in some events where he did not compete with Elena, and with his daughter Valentina, born in that country.

Since March 2013, he has been Vice President of the FIA Drivers' Commission, created on the same date.

Sports career

Gymnastics

Sébastien Loeb, the only son of Guy and Ingrid Loeb, began his sports career as a gymnast from a very early age, when he began training at the age of three in the team of the town of Oberhoffen sur Moder under the tutelage of his father, who was a master of the specialty and had been its champion. In more than a decade as an active gymnast, Loeb was champion of Alsace on four occasions, champion of the "Great East" in one and tenth place in the French children's championships.

Rally

Debut

He made his first rally races in 1995, when he participated in the 'Rallye Jeunes' operation, which was suspended with two races remaining. Observed by Dominique Heintz and Rémi Mammosser, he joined, in 1997, his team 'Ambition Sport Auto'. After several successes in regional rallies, he quickly moved on to national events and won four races in which he participated in the 1300 cm³ category. At the end of the season he was chosen as the Hope of the Year ^{[ citation needed ] .}

In 1999 he won the Citroën Saxo Kit Car Trophy and in 2000 he won the French Land Rally Championship. Citroën offered him a Xsara Kit Car to compete in the Var Rally, which he won. After this victory, he was hired by Citroën to compete in the 2001 French championship. In that season he reached the French Asphalt Rally championship with 6 victories and the Junior World Championship (JWRC) with 5 victories ^{[citation required]}.

First participations in the World Championship

In 2000 he raced for the first time in a World Rally Car, in the Corsica Rally finishing ninth. The following year he achieved his first podium in a world championship, finishing second in San Remo, driving a Citroën Xsara WRC. In 2002 he participated in some World Championship events. He dominated the Monte Carlo Rally, but was stripped of victory due to a team error. However, he achieved his first victory in the Rally Germany.

In 2003, he competed in his first full WRC season and achieved the feat of finishing better than his two teammates, Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz, both previous world champions. Even so, he did not reach the title, which remained in the hands of the Norwegian Petter Solberg.

In November 2003, he beat Marcus Grönholm in the Race of Champions in Gran Canaria, both at the hands of a Peugeot 206 WRC.

2004: first world title

In 2004 he reached the World Rally Championship with six victories. He thus became the second French driver to win the title, after Didier Auriol did so ten years earlier, however, he is the first Frenchman to win the World Championship with a car from the French country. Throughout that season, he became the first non-Nordic driver to win the Rally of Sweden. In Mexico he abandoned the event due to the rupture of his car's crankcase, just as he did in the Rally of Spain.

In December, he reached the final of the Race of Champions, which was held on an asphalt track at the Saint-Denis Stadium, but was defeated by Heikki Kovalainen, then champion of the World Series by Nissan single-seater promotional category.. As a consolation, he, together with Jean Alesi, defeated the Finnish duo Kovalainen-Grönholm in the Nations Cup.

2005: second world title

In 2005 he achieved his third consecutive victory in the Monte Carlo Rally and chained six consecutive victories in New Zealand, Italy, Cyprus, Turkey, Greece and Argentina. After a second position in the Rally Finland, he triumphed for the fourth time in the Rally Germany, achieving in one season (10) and consecutive victories (6). In the Rally of Great Britain, after the accident that cost the life of Michael Park, Markko Märtin's co-driver, and after the retirement of the car of Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen, out of respect for his teammates, Loeb decides to commit an infringement voluntarily not to win the title. It was in the next event, the Japan Rally, where Loeb achieved his second consecutive world title. At the Corsica Rally, he became the first driver in WRC history to achieve all the best times on the stages of a rally. He also won the next round, the Rally of Spain. To finish off that excellent season, he also won the Race of Champions against Tom Kristensen in the French capital.

2006: third world title

In 2006 Citroën withdrew from the WRC and Loeb raced at the wheel of an Xsara WRC from the private Kronos Racing team. Apart from the World Championship he also participated in the development of the C4 WRC, which would be used by Citroën for its return to the World Championship in 2007. By mid-season he was leading the WRC thanks to five victories and three second places against Marcus Grönholm. During the summer break, Loeb participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he took second place in a team formed with Franck Montagny and Éric Hélary. After winning the Japan Rally he broke the record of victories in the WRC that Carlos Sainz had until now, by achieving 27 victories. A few days after his victory in the Cyprus Rally he fell off a bicycle and fractured the head of his right humerus, which prevented him from participating in Turkey and Australia. However, Marcus Grönholm was unable to cut the lead that Loeb had and after an accident in Australia, the Frenchman is proclaimed triple world champion from his home.

2007: fourth world title

Loeb began the season at the wheel of his new Citroën C4 in the return to the World Rally Championship of the official Citroën team. It was a season of close competition with the Finn Marcus Grönholm and the championship was not defined until the Rally of Great Britain, where Loeb was proclaimed four-time world champion, finally achieving eight victories in the season. With that victory, Loeb equaled the mark of four championships Tommi Mäkinen's consecutive victories and was, together with Mäkinen and Juha Kankkunen, at the top of drivers with the most championships in the history of the World Championship.

2008: fifth world title

In 2008 he began by winning the Monte Carlo Rally, with a retirement in Sweden due to a rollover and another victory in Mexico, continuing with another in Argentina. In the Jordan rally, Loeb was leading halfway through the second day ahead of Dani Sordo but on a link stage he collided with Conrad Rautenbach's car. He won again in Italy and Greece and took third place in Turkey as well as other victories in Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Spain and France. He was crowned in Japan with a third place and closed the year with a victory in Wales. In December he beat David Coulthard to win the Race of Champions for the third time, this time at Wembley Stadium in London.

2009: sixth world title

In 2009 Sébastien Loeb was named Knight of the French Legion of Honor and competed in the WRC again aboard the Citroën C4 WRC of the official team, starting the season with a clear dominance over his rivals, with five consecutive victories in the five first tests of the year: Ireland, Norway, Cyprus, Portugal and Argentina, placing him 19 points behind second place, his teammate Dani Sordo. In the next test, in Sardinia, the Fords won, occupying the first two places on the podium, accompanied of Petter Solberg, while Loeb finished fourth. In Greece, Loeb abandoned and gave the victory again to the Ford drivers, in this case Hirvonen, who won again in the next three races: Poland, Finland and Australia. Before the penultimate race of the year, in Spain, Hirvonen was first in the standings with five points ahead of the Frenchman. However, Loeb won the race, followed by Sordo and Hirvonen, which placed him just one point behind the Finn with one race remaining: Great Britain. In the last race of the season Loeb achieved victory and his sixth title. world championship, followed by Hirvonen who finished second, settling for the runner-up position in the world championship that he had already achieved in 2008.

2010: seventh world title

In 2010 Loeb achieved eight victories in the world championship and won the title in his homeland, in the Alsace Rally with two rounds left to finish the season, the rallies of Spain and Gran Brittany.

In August of that year he renewed his contract with Citroën; however, in September he announced his possible retirement from the world championship and 2011 would be his last season;

2011: eighth world title

In the 2011 season Loeb drove a Citroën DS3 WRC with only Sebastien Ogier as his partner. He achieved five victories but his teammate won another five and after a tenth place in Australia and a retirement in the Alsace Rally, he arrived in Great Britain, the last round of the year, with only eight points difference over Hirvonen, thus They disputed the title on Welsh lands.

Before the Rally of Great Britain, in Spain Loeb broke the historical record of stage victories held by Markku Alen with 802, thanks to the scratch in the second stage of the rally.

In the last event of the year, in the Rally of Great Britain, Hirvonen abandoned the rally on the first day when he was leading the event, leaving Loeb the opportunity to win the title without major pressure, although he could not finish either when he crashed. front with a car during a link, ceding the victory of the rally to the other Ford driver, Latvala. However, the Frenchman was able to celebrate his eighth consecutive world title on French soil.

In the same month of November, Loeb participated in the Monza Rally Show with a Citroën DS3 WRC co-driven by his own wife, Severine Loeb, where he achieved victory after beating other drivers such as the Italian Valentino Rossi, who had already expired in 2006 and 2007.

2012: ninth world title

After Ogier left the team, Finnish Mikko Hirvonen signed for Citroën, making him Loeb's teammate in 2012. Beginning the season in the Monte Carlo Rally, Loeb won, followed by Sordo and Solberg in second and third places, respectively. With the victory, Loeb achieved his sixth victory in the Monegasque event.

In September 2012 Loeb reached an agreement with the brand to continue in 2013, although with a reduced program of five races, so he would not complete the calendar and would not fight for the title after ten years as an official driver of Citroën and would prepare to participate in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) with Citroën.

The decision to retire from rallies was partially influenced by the death of his mother, which occurred a year earlier, since from that moment on it was more difficult for him to fulfill his obligations as a driver. Although he had originally contemplated complete retirement, he was attracted to participation in the WTCC to continue his racing career; For this reason he prepared with Citroën the partial season in the WRC as a farewell to the specialty and as a transition towards competition on tracks.

In the Alsace Rally and, with two tests remaining, he achieved victory and won his ninth drivers' title.

2013-2018: some participations with Citroën

For the 2013 season of the World Rally Championship he only competed in four tests: Monte Carlo, Sweden, Argentina and France. In the first of them, Monte Carlo, he obtained first place, after competing in a test considered dramatic and which had have to be canceled before the end for safety reasons. That victory represented his seventh victory in the Monegasque event.

In Sweden, his second event, he obtained second place, while in Argentina he achieved his eighth consecutive victory in the event and the seventy-eighth of his career in the world championship by winning over his compatriot Sébastien Ogier, who had dominated the first part of the competition.

In the Rally de France, his fourth and final round of the season, he had to retire after going off the road and overturning in a ditch on the fifteenth stage.

Loeb returned to the World Rally Championship by entering the 2015 Monte Carlo Rally with an official Citroën DS3 WRC. He led at the beginning of the race, winning three stages, but on stage 8 he hit a rock and had to retire. He rejoined to win two more stages and finish eighth overall.

On July 26, 2017, his return as a C3 WRC development driver in the Citroën team was announced. He is rumored to have a possible return as a Citroën driver alongside Sebastien Ogier.

In 2018, Loeb returned to compete in a partial WRC program. He competed in three rallies, including the victory in the Rally of Spain. He had previously been fifth in Mexico and fourteenth in France. He finished in 13th position in the general classification.

2019-2020: signing for Hyundai

The arrival of Sebastien Ogier and Esapekka Lappi at Citroën and the latter's loss of its main sponsor made it impossible for the double chevron brand to have a third car for Loeb, so the French driver decided to sign for Hyundai, where he would compete in a partial program. So far, he has participated in five of the eight rallies held. In Monte Carlo he finished fourth, in Sweden he was seventh, in France he was eighth, in Chile he finished Third and in Portugal he finished in 22nd position due to mechanical problems.

The arrival of Sebastien Ogier and Esapekka Lappi at Citroën and the latter's loss of its main sponsor made it impossible for the double chevron brand to have a third car for Loeb, so the French driver decided to sign for Hyundai, where he would compete in a partial program. So far, he has participated in five of the eight rallies held. In Monte Carlo he finished fourth, in Sweden he was seventh, in France he was eighth, in Chile he finished Third and in Portugal he finished in 22nd position due to mechanical problems.

The arrival of Sebastien Ogier and Esapekka Lappi at Citroën and the latter's loss of its main sponsor made it impossible for the double chevron brand to have a third car for Loeb, so the French driver decided to sign for Hyundai, where he would compete in a partial program. So far, he has participated in five of the eight rallies held. In Monte Carlo he finished fourth, in Sweden he was seventh, in France he was eighth, in Chile he finished Third and in Portugal he finished in 22nd position due to mechanical problems.

In 2022, Loeb returned to the WRC with Ford and M-Sport. In his first event, the Monte-Carlo Rally, he always proved strong and finally won the round.

Dakar Rally

He participated in the 2016 Dakar Rally with an official Peugeot 2008 DKR, qualifying in ninth position and winning four stages. His co-pilot was Daniel Elena.

Loeb participated in the 2017 Dakar Rally aboard an official Peugeot 3008 DKR, and managed to finish second, just over five minutes behind the first. He won five stages, and was the overall leader at the end of stages two, three, eight and nine, which was cancelled. His co-pilot was again Daniel Elena.

Loeb returned to participate in the 2018 Dakar Rally with the official Peugeot team, aboard a Peugeot 3008 DKR Maxi. However, this year he retired at the end of stage five. In it, his car fell into a dune, where he spent more than three hours, and later his abandonment was confirmed since his co-pilot, Daniel Elena, had suffered injuries. He won stage 4.

After Peugeot's withdrawal, Loeb returned to the 2019 Dakar with a 2017 Peugeot 3008 with the private team PH Sport, with Daniel Elena on the right. They won four stages and finished third in the final classification, almost two hours behind the leader.

In 2021, it returned with BRX. That year he failed to finish the race, but the following year he won two stages and finished second in the overall standings, behind Nasser Al-Attiyah.

Rallycross

After leaving the tracks, Loeb joined the Peugeot-Hansen team to compete in the 2016 World Rallycross Championship with a Peugeot 208 in the Supercars class. He had one victory in Latvia, two second places, one third and two fifths, so that he placed fifth in the drivers' championship.

In 2017 he achieved six podiums in twelve races, achieving fourth place in the final classification. In 2018 he achieved his second victory in Belgium and accumulated six podiums. He finished the championship in fourth position. This was his last year, as Peugeot dropped out of the World Rallycross Championship at the end of the 2018 season.

Extreme E

In 2021, the Frenchman was Cristina Gutiérrez's teammate on the Team X44 team, owned by Lewis Hamilton, in the new Extreme E championship. Loeb and Gutiérrez were runners-up.

Track racing

Grand Touring Cars

Loeb began his first regular season on circuits as driver-owner in the 2013 FIA GT Championship. At the wheel of a McLaren MP4-12C, he earned four victories in 12 races alongside Álvaro Parente, placing him sixth in the drivers' championship. of the Pro class, and second in the team championship. On the other hand, he came second in the Macau Grand Prix of the Porsche Carrera Cup, and competed in the Spain and Monaco dates of the Porsche Super Cup. In 2015, he competed in the Spa-Francorchamps round of the Porsche Super Cup.

World Touring Car Championship

Loeb signed with the official Citroën team to compete in the 2014 World Touring Car Championship with a Citroën C-Elysée. He finished third in the overall drivers' standings, behind his teammates José María López and Yvan Muller, with a total of two wins and eight podiums in 23 races. In 2015 he achieved four victories and 12 podiums in 24 races, repeating third place in the championship.

Formula 1

Loeb has also participated in several Formula 1 tests. His first experience was in 2007 at the wheel of the Renault R27 of Heikki Kovalainen, who drove the Frenchman's Citroën C4 WRC in said test. The following year, Red Bull, who sponsored the Citroën World Rally Team, rewarded Loeb with a test with the Red Bull RB4 after winning the World Rally Championship. He tested the car for the first time at Silverstone, and took part in the winter testing at the Barcelona-Catalonia circuit, finishing eighth in the standings.

In 2009, the Frenchman had the opportunity to replace his compatriot Sébastien Bourdais at Scuderia Toro Rosso, but since he was competing in the WRC, the team opted for the Spanish Jaime Alguersuari. However, once the rally championship season ended, it was scheduled to debut at the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but it was not possible as it did not have the FIA superlicense.

He also had experience with the Dallara GP2/08 of the GP2 Series in the 2009 post-season tests at the Jerez circuit. He drove the car of the David Price Racing team and finished last in the test with a time of 1:28.114.

Other competencies

X Games

In 2012 he won the gold medal in the rallycross event at the X Games, in Los Angeles, United States. He beat fifteen regular drivers in the Global Rallycross Championship, although he was unable to face his former WRC rival, Marcus Grönholm, who was injured during practice.

Pikes Peak

In 2013, on June 30, he participated in the "Race to the Clouds" from Pikes Peak, USA, driving a Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak specially prepared for the event, with a power/weight ratio of 1hp/kg in the return of the French brand to said competition, where it won and won a new record in travel time with 8:13.878 minutes.

Career Summary

Results

French Rally Championship

World Rally Championship

• ♪ Season in progress.

JWRC

24 Hours of Le Mans

Year	Equipment	Copilots	Automobile	Class	Returns	Pos.	Pos. Class
2005	Pescarolo Sport	Soheil Ayari Éric Hélary	Pescarolo C60-Judd	LMP1	288	DNF
2006	Pescarolo Sport	Franck Montagny Éric Hélary	Pescarolo C60-Judd	LMP1	376	2.
Source:

FIA GT Series

(Key) (bold indicates pole position) (italics indicates fast lap)

Porsche Supercup

(Key) (bold indicates pole position) (italics indicates fast lap)

• ^† Loeb was a guest pilot, so he was not fit to score points.

World Touring Car Championship

(Key) (bold indicates pole position) (italics indicates fast lap)

Global Rallycross Championship

European Rallycross Championship

FIA World Rallycross Championship

Dakar Rally

Extreme E

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters

(Key) (bold indicates pole position) (italics indicates fast lap)