SEBASTIEN LOEB

Sébastien Loeb has been used to sporting success all his life, although not all of it through motorsport. Unlike some of his young motorsport peers, the Frenchman’s competitive spirit was honed through gymnastics from an early age, spending 12 years following in the footsteps of his father and racking up four Alsace regional titles as well as finishing fifth in the French championships.

But before long gymnastics would be replaced by the need for speed, a young Sebastien first racing around the streets on mopeds before enrolling in Rallye Jeune, a detection programme for aspiring rally drivers. Despite missing out on the top prize that year, he did meet Dominique Heintz and Rémi Mammoser, two men who would set him on the path to becoming the most successful rally driver in history. For it was their Ambition Sport Auto outfit with whom Loeb would clinch his first success during the Volant 106 championship in 1997, before meeting long-standing co-driver Daniel Elena on the Rallye des Cévennes.

When the Ambition Sport Auto pairing secured the Saxo Kit Car Trophy together in 1999, the French motorsport federation (FFSA) were sufficiently impressed to push for Loeb and Elena’s inclusion in the French Rally team. The three rounds of the WRC that followed proved Loeb’s credentials and although he crashed out in Spain, there were class wins on the Tour de Corse and San Remo. After winning the French Rally championship at the age of 26, the man born in Haguenau was offered a Citroën Xsara Kit Car by Guy Fréquelin for the Rallye du Var, an event he won prompting Fréquelin to hire him for the French Championship. Second overall on the San Remo in 2001 was enough for Citroen to offer a seven-round campaign the following year, during which he claimed his maiden WRC win in Germany, the first of eight consecutive Rally Deutschland victories.

In 2003 Loeb again proved a class act by beating Citroën team-mates, former world champions and genuine rally legends Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz in what was still his first full season. Despite taking three wins, he was forced to settle for second in the championship behind Petter Solberg following Citroën team orders on Rally GB to minimise risks and guarantee the Constructors’ crown. It would prove but a brief disappointment, the following seven seasons being utterly dominated by Loeb who would rack up victory after victory and title after title. On the 2005 Tour de Corse he was fastest on every stage of the rally! Faithful to Citroën, he moved from the Xsara to C4 with the same seamless success, with only Mikko Hirvonen’s spirited 2009 campaign coming close to toppling the Frenchman. Any thoughts his powers might be waning were rebuffed in 2010 with another eight wins, a tally that now stands at 62, 12 podiums from 13 starts and no retirements. In 2011, Loeb stays with Citroën, alongside new teamate Sébastien Ogier.

“Seven. Yes seven… Really, this is the number of consecutive world championships Sébastien Loeb has won. It’s an incredible achievement and one which perhaps does not attract the coverage it deserves. Even more amazing is that his career is still not over. It’s extraordinary what the world of rallying has witnessed.

“Sébastien and Daniel make everything look so simple. ‘Do not think that it has been easy as I did not have to fight against one but several opponents,’ said Loeb at the end of this season. That’s true, but as usual he managed it. The 2010 season witnessed what will be one of the most enjoyable moments of his career when he won at home in Alsace. It must be said that destiny was with him: the pressure of competing on the roads of his native town, Haguenau, amongst an overjoyed crowd, could have got to him, as well as the thought of a 60th career victory.

“It was a record that lasted only until the very next rally. Difficult to beat when he is fighting for the championship, Loeb is also untouchable once his mind is free from pressure and he is competing for the pleasure of it! This was confirmed in Cataluña and then Wales. To be the opponent of such a champion is a huge task!

“A true champion outside the car as well as in, Loeb is loved by the media and a marketing man’s dream. He’s hinted in his biography, as well as in selected interviews, that 2011 may well be his last in the WRC. Maybe that’s true, maybe not. What we can be sure of is that once behind the wheel, his drive to win will always remain.”