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Tag: Sebastien Loeb
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Sebastien Loeb takes lead: WRC Rallye Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo, 21 Jan 2022: Sébastien Loeb became the oldest driver to lead an FIA World Rally Championship round after a sensational return to dominate Rallye Monte-Carlo on Friday.
As he approaches his 48th birthday, the Frenchman won four of the six French Alps speed tests to lead the first rally of the WRC’s innovative new hybrid era by 9.9sec in M-Sport Ford’s Puma.
The Monaco-based event is Loeb’s first WRC outing for more than a year and, currently, a one-off appearance with the British squad.
Loeb was second after Thursday night’s short opening leg behind old foe Sébastien Ogier. He charged by his fellow countryman in the last of the morning’s three special stages and preserved his advantage in the afternoon, despite a small technical issue.
“The first four stages were really great then we had a little hybrid problem,” he explained. “In the last stage I made a good drive, but maybe it was freezing a bit more. We had some little ice coming out at the end of the stage, so it was a bit tricky.
“I was really surprised when I was doing the best time in yesterday’s shakedown in the first pass. Usually in shakedown I’m not great but with this car I was immediately in the rhythm. It’s not a big gap but I’m happy to be leading after the first full day.”
Ogier dropped to third behind Toyota GR Yaris team-mate Elfyn Evans after a cautious approach on frosty roads in this morning’s final stage. But fastest time on the afternoon repeat promoted him back to second.
A wary run in the same test cost Evans valuable seconds. The Welshman ended 12.1sec adrift of his colleague after a frustrating day learning the intricacies of driving with the hybrid system for the first time in competition.
Thierry Neuville topped an intense battle for fourth in a Hyundai i20 N. His day improved after an eye-opening first stage in which he described the balance as ‘a nightmare’. “I’ve never been so scared while driving,” he said.
The Belgian stiffened his car’s settings and ended 8.9sec clear of team-mate Ott Tänak, with Craig Breen dropping 2.5sec behind the Estonian in the final stage in another Puma.
Team-mate Gus Greensmith celebrated his first WRC stage win en route to seventh. But for a minor problem with the hybrid system, the Briton would have been snapping on Neuville’s heels.
Takamoto Katsuta, Kalle Rovanperä and Oliver Solberg completed the leaderboard. A spin and smoke seeping into his i20 N’s cockpit delayed Solberg.
Adrien Fourmaux was fourth overnight but the Frenchman crashed his Puma down a ravine in the opening test. He and co-driver Alex Coria escaped injury, a testament to the new enhanced safety cell chassis introduced this year.
In FIA WRC2, Stéphane Lefebvre scored a slender lead after a late Friday push. The DG Sport Competition driver started the day 24.5sec adrift of Saintéloc’s Eric Camilli’s similar Citroën C3 Rally2 car, but moved to second behind Andreas Mikkelsen (Toksport Škoda Fabia Evo) when the early leader retired after going off the road and damaging his front suspension.
The former Citroën factory driver hacked a massive 14.5sec from Mikkelsen’s advantage during the first pass of Val-de-Chavagne / Entrevaux before going another 8.0sec quicker than his rival when it was repeated as the final stage.
The last-minute charge enabled Lefebvre to move in front and he arrived back to the Monaco service park 8.0sec ahead of Mikkelsen.
In FIA WRC3, Jan Černý kept his cool under increasing pressure from Sami Pajari to retain the class lead.
The Czech driver initially led the field of M-Sport Poland Ford Fiesta Rally3 cars by 21.2sec after winning both Thursday’s night stages but was much less dominant in the daylight.
Flying Finn Pajari set fastest times on all bar two of Friday’s frosty tests and at one point reduced the deficit to 14.8sec. However, a slow time at the final Val-de-Chavagne / Entrevaux blast undid his hard work and he ended 26.7sec off the pace.
Monte-Carlo stalwart Enrico Brazzoli ended another 11min 7.5sec behind, followed by Hungarian pilot Zoltán László who trailed the leaders by 11min 48.5sec
Saturday’s action switches west for five stages near Digne-les-Bains. Three morning tests precede a tyre change in the town before the latter two are repeated. The day features two climbs of the mythical Col de Fontbelle, likely to feature several kilometres of snow and ice at the summit.
The provisional results can be consulted here.
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Sebastien Loeb surprise return to Dakar Rally; Frenchman eyes maiden win
Sebastien Loeb…..all set for another Dakar challenge. Photo: WRC. Paris, 31 October 2018: Sébastien Loeb has revealed that he will return for another shot at a maiden Dakar Rally win next January as a Red Bull privateer.
Here is all you need to know:
Loeb has driven the World’s most gruelling rally raid race three times before in a factory car. His second place behind team-mate Stéphane Peterhansel in 2017 was his best result for Team Peugeot Total.
After retiring in 2018 due to an injury to co-driver Daniel Elena in the Peruvian sand dunes, it looked like the motorsport legend would never race it again.
Nevertheless Loeb, emboldened by his 79th FIA World Rally Championship victory in Spain last weekend, has decided to give it another shot.
The privateer car that he will pilot alongside navigator Elena will be a Peugeot 3008DKR similar to the one that he finished runner-up in at the 2017 edition.
His car will be run by independent French team PH Sport with Loeb looking to become the first privateer to win the race since Jean-Louis Schlesser in 2000.
The 41st Dakar Rally in Peru takes place solely in one country for the first time from January 6-17 with around 5,000 kilometres over 10 stages awaiting the world’s best off-roaders leaving Loeb little time for testing.
The 44-year-old, who also has Silk Way Rally and Rallye du Maroc experience with Peugeot, said: “Throughout my career I’ve always been considered to be a favourite. While I’m obviously motivated by winning, having fun is important too, so taking part in the 2019 Dakar with Daniel, as private outsiders, is a fantastic challenge. I’m ready to give it a go: a little bit like my three WRC appearances this year, where success was far from being guaranteed.”
The Haguenau native will test the PH car privately in December before the rally start in Lima where he will be up against the likes of familiar foes Peterhansel, Carlos Sainz, Cyril Despres and Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Loeb added: “I think all these guys will be strong rivals. I couldn’t go with the wider 3008DKR Maxi from this year due to the latest regulations, so we go with the 2.20m wide car from the year before, maybe with a few small evolutions on the engine similar to this year.”
Peruvian sand dunes undid Loeb this year with next year’s edition seeing a whopping 70% of the route made up of them, something that he is not afraid of.
He explained: “I like the dunes, but the key thing will be not to get stuck. This is what I will work on during my test and there will also be some work for Daniel too, as navigation in the dunes is really tricky. I only made the decision to go to Dakar again at the last minute, but I’m still hungry for the win. We’re probably lacking some preparation compared to the others: equally I didn’t forget everything I learned over the last three years. It’s an adventure that I’m looking forward to experiencing again.”
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Loeb snatches dramatic WRC win in Spain; Ogier regains championship lead after finishing second
Sebastien Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena on the podium after their win in Spain. Photo: rallyracc.com Salou, 29 October 2018: Sébastien Loeb (co-driver Daniel Elena) claimed his first WRC victory for more than five years in a pulsating finale to RallyRACC Catalunya – Rally de España, the penultimate round of the FIA World Rally Championship on Sunday. The 44-year old nine-time World champion, making his final guest appearance of the season with Citroën Racing, edged defending title holder Sébastien Ogier by 2.9sec in an intense finale to the four-day mixed surface event.
Ogier’s consolation was that he regained the championship lead by three points from Thierry Neuville with one round remaining. The Belgian was relegated from third to fourth, and missed out on crucial bonus points, after hitting a stone near the finish.
After winning every year from 2005 to 2012, Loeb (Citroën C3 WRC) achieved his ninth victory at the RallyRACC, an amazing feat, as he is not currently participating in this season and had chosen the Spanish round as one of the three in which he competed this season. This victory is also the second consecutive achieved by Citroën at the Catalan round, after the one Meeke-Nagle took last year.
Loeb, who retired from full-time competition in 2012, last stood on the winners’ podium in Argentina in 2013. He lay third overnight but charged into the lead by winning Sunday’s opening two speed tests as an inspired tyre choice reaped rewards. Loeb threw away vital seconds with a spin in the penultimate test to allow Ogier to close in his Ford Fiesta. He held on through the final 14.50km test for his ninth Spanish win.
“The information we had from the weather team was right. The roads were drying and I knew if I used hard tyres in these conditions I could be fast,” he said. “To win after almost six years is incredible, but to do so in a battle like this, where you only discover after the finish line that you have won, is amazing. I never believed I would win again.”
Tyre choice errors early in the event cost Ogier dear, but this season’s remarkable title fight swung back in his favour when Neuville hit a stone close to the finish. The impact broke his Hyundai i20’s right rear wheel and allowed Elfyn Evans, team-mate to Ogier, to snatch third and aid his colleague’s title bid. Evans ended 0.5sec clear of Neuville.
Spain’s Dani Sordo was a further 1.6sec behind in fifth, while early leader Ott Tänak recovered to sixth after yesterday’s puncture. The Estonian is 23 points adrift of Ogier and with a maximum 30 available at the last round, his hopes hang by a thread.
Esapekka Lappi finished seventh ahead of Toyota Yaris team-mate and overnight leader Jari-Matti Latvala. The Finn remained second until he hit a barrier in the penultimate stage, punctured his front left tyre and dropped nearly 50sec. Craig Breen and Andreas Mikkelsen completed the top 10.
The championship showdown takes place at Kennards Hire Rally Australia. The gravel event is based in Coffs Harbour on 15-18 November.
Sebastien Ogier….back at the top of the championship. Photo: M-Sport. Ogier said; “It’s been an eventful weekend but we’re feeling good at the end of it. We knew that it would be difficult starting second on the road and the wet conditions made it really challenging as well. But we never gave up and gave it everything we had. You’re always a little frustrated when you miss the victory by such a small margin, but we tried everything we could and it’s still been a positive weekend as we regained the lead of the championship. Starting first on the road in Australia will be difficult, but I prefer to have the points in hand. It will be a tough rally and we will have to give it everything we have if we want to regain the title.”
The day started with a first pass through the Riudecanyes (16.35 km) and Santa Marina (14.50 km) stages, where Loeb set the fastest time, taking the lead after this first loop and leaving Latvala Miikka (Toyota Yaris WRC), 7.1 seconds behind, and Ogier (Ford Fiesta WRC) at 10.8.
With all options open before the second loop over the same two stages, Riudecanyes had a surprising winning duo, Elfyn Evans-Daniel Barritt (Ford Fiesta WRC), who took the fifth place overall ahead of the Spanish Dani Sordo-Carlos del Barrio (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC). Nevertheless, the highlight in that stage was a spin by Loeb at the Coll de la Teixeta roundabout, where he lost some seconds but kept the lead, as well as a puncture for Latvala, this time in the left front tyre, that took him definitively out of the fight for victory.
At Santa Marina, the Power Stage, Loeb and Ogier met for the final duel and the last stage could not be more exciting: Ott Tänak was the fastest and took the 5 extra points. But the drivers fighting for victory were right behind him, Ogier second and Loeb third, which allowed the Citroën driver to take the win, for the ninth time at the RallyRACC, a historical feat that no one else had achieved in the 54 editions held.
Thierry Neuville lost the third final position in the last few meters, as he damaged his rear tyre, so Elfyn Evans, who was fourth in the Power Stage, completed the overall podium. Dani Sordo, who took one additional point in this last stage, was not able to do any better than the sixth place, ahead of Ott Tänak, who is now definitively out of the fight for the drivers’ title.
Teenager Rovanpera leads 1-2 WRC 2 finish for Skoda
Kalle Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen celebrating their WRC 2 category. Photo: Skoda Motorsport Exactly on the day of the 100 years celebration of the country Czechoslovakia, Czech ŠKODA factory crew Jan Kopecký/Pavel Dresler celebrated their WRC 2 championship win with a second place behind team-mates Kalle Rovanperä-Jonne Halttunen. Before the event, ŠKODA Motorsport also had secured the WRC 2 Championship for Teams, making the 2018 season the most successful in its history.
After the rally switched from gravel to tarmac for the Saturday leg, 18-year old Rovanperä stormed into the category lead, unimpressed by heavy rain. Finally, he secured his second WRC 2 win of the season, which made them climb up to third overall in the WRC 2 championship standings behind teammates Jan Kopecký and Pontus Tidemand.
Kopecký said: “This is a very special day for me. On the date today, my home country celebrates its 100th birthday. We are delighted to become WRC 2 champions and so could crown a fantastic season!”
One of the first to congratulate was Christian Strube, Head of Technical Development ŠKODA AUTO. ŠKODA Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek added: “Now it is time to celebrate! Kalle and Jan did a great job. The whole team made it possible, that we enjoy the most successful year in the history of ŠKODA Motorsport!”
Overall Classification:
- Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena (Citroen C3 WRC) 3:12:08.0
- Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (Ford Fiesta WRC) +2.9
- Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt (Ford Fiesta WRC) +16.5
- Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +17.0
- Dani Sordo / Carlos del Barrio (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +18.6
- Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:03.9
- Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:16.6
- Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1:26.4
- Craig Breen / Scott Martin (Citroen C3 WRC) +2:07.0
- Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +2:48.2
- Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula (Ford Fiesta WRC) +3:52.0
Drivers’ Championship Standings:
- Sébastien Ogier – 204
- Thierry Neuville – 201
- Ott Tänak – 181
- Esapekka Lappi – 110
- Jari-Matti Latvala – 102
- Andreas Mikkelsen – 84
- Dani Sordo – 71
- Elfyn Evans – 70
- Craig Breen – 61
- Hayden Paddon – 55
- Teemu Suninen – 54
Manufacturers’ Championship Standings:
- Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC – 331
- Hyundai Motorsport – 319
- M-Sport Ford World Rally Team – 306
- Citroen Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team – 216
