At 21, he gave up everything and took up motor racing. Lucky for us. Ο Sebastian Loeb, became a living legend as he proved that "for a moon", there was no being on the planet that can lead faster from him. The Frenchman, who has won nine global WRC championships with Citroen, broke the record for the fastest ascent to the Pikes peak driving a Peugeot 208 T16, got the win and three qualifying matches in the FIA GT Series driving a McLaren MP4-12C, ran in the World Touring Car Championship driving a Citroen C-Elysee WTCC and took part in the races Porsche Supercup, is preparing for his new feat.
This time, attacks Dakar. You will run, with the brutal Peugeot 2008DKR in the legendary rally. We wonder if there too, in the driver's door pocket, the mobile his phone, like he always used to. As he did in Acropolis Rally, at more serious accident of his career, where he brought some tumbles. And he was looking in the... ditches the door of Citroen to find his cell phone...
But these are old stories of a god of rallies. The question is, what history will now be written in the the toughest rally on this planet (when we relocate on Marswhere they found water, we see). Why did Peugeot build this space monster (there's Mars again) and created a dream team. We told you that the French have set their sights on winning the Dakar. Well, now they're proving it.
Sebastien Loeb, the greatest rally driver ever, Peugeot and Redbull tell us, is all set for one of the biggest challenges of his illustrious career as he joins the Peugeot dream-team for the first time to race in January at the legendary Dakar.
The nine-time WRC World Champion and the man who holds an incredible record on the Pikes Peak climb, will drive the Peugeot 2008DKR in the Morocco Rally (3-9 October) alongside an old acquaintance, Carlos Sainz.
All this in preparation for the world's toughest rally, the Dakar rally that lasts 13 full days in Argentina and Bolivia. Team Peugeot Total's South American racing line-up will be supported by Stephane Peterhansel and Cyril Despres.
O 41-time Loeb, one of the most successful drivers in motorsport history with a 46.2% win-to-start ratio in the WRC, said: "I discovered a talent for racing as soon as I turned 18 and that's when I started racing in my first rallies. Since then I have been interested in different types of racing and Dakar is one of them.
I think it's a great challenge to go and compete driving in the vast desert.
"The Dakar is a completely different race from what I have done so far. It will be very long, close to two weeks, and it requires a lot of endurance from the driver as well as the car. It's something completely different that I will discover in January."
Earlier, Loeb will race with Sainz in Cross Country, Morocco. For the Frenchman, this will be a special reunion moment as he was in the same team as the Spaniard in his first full season of racing (in 2003, a year later Sainz retired from WRC). In Morocco, Sainz also returns to drive the improved PEUGEOT 2008DKR16,
while Loeb will race in the previous specification (2015) car.
"When I tried the PEUGEOT 2008DKR in June, I was excited from the first moment and I couldn't let this challenge go unanswered," said Loeb, who competes in the FIA WTCC championship with Citroen.
"What surprised me most of all, was how different
was driving a race car for the Dakar: in WRC I'm used to going around obstacles, but with this car you can just go over them and it takes a while to really believe it!"
"I also have to take detailed notes: in cross country you have to find your own way and improve your route. And this is the first time I've actually driven a diesel racer like this. There's still a lot to learn, but I'm keen to discover a lot more."
Having broken almost every record in the WRC, Sebastien Loeb has also informally emerged as the 'King of the Peak' when he completed the Pikes Peak climb in record time two years ago, in Peugeot and Red Bull colours. He is now a key part of the larger team that will contest the Dakar. As 11-time Dakar winner Stephane Peterhansel said: 'Sebastien Loeb is a benchmark in motorsport. There are very few, or almost none, to learn anything from him."
Five-time motorcycle winner Cyril Despres said: "Since I left the two wheels for the four, the experience I'm getting better and better. And when I found out about Sebastien's arrival at the team, everything seems to have come full circle."
Two-time WRC champion and 2010 Dakar winner Carlos Sainz, stresses: "There's nothing more to say about Sebastien that his career already doesn't say. Of course, rallyraid will be a new adventure for him, but he has all the tools to tackle it without a problem. As I have seen from myself in the past, Sebastien is a quick learner with everything he tackles."
"Dakar is something that suits me, it's a huge adventure," adds Loeb, who dominates Pikes Peak and has been a World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) medallist. "The rally in Morocco will give me a very interesting insight into what cross country is all about alongside very successful teammates."
Loeb will be joined by Daniel Elena, the co-driver with whom he scored 78 WRC wins. Morocco will be remembered for the return of one of the most successful crews ever to race, starting a new adventure after 17 years together in rallying.
Like Loeb, the now 42-year-old Elena has never competed in cross country before, but has done special preparation for this unique desert challenge, where crews have to make the right decisions instantly using a sophisticated GPS that guides them from point to point.
Peugeot Sport director Bruno Famin commented: "Sebastien was impressed from the moment he sat in the car and having improved several points from the previous Dakar, his integration into the team was the final piece of the puzzle."
