Sébastien Loeb
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| Nation: |
 France
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| World Rally Championship (WRC) | |||||||||
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| First rally: | Rally Catalonia 1999 | ||||||||
| Last rally: | Rally Monte Carlo 2020 | ||||||||
| Co-driver: |
 Daniel Elena
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| Team: |
Hyundai WRT Citroën World Rally Team |
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| Vehicle: |
Hyundai i20 WRC Citroën C3 WRC Citroën DS3 WRC Citroën C4 WRC Citroën Xsara WRC |
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| Championship title: | 2004 , 2005 , 2006 , 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 | ||||||||
| Points: | 1727 | ||||||||
| Status: After 3 of 8 rallies, 2020 season | |||||||||
Sébastien Loeb (born February 26, 1974 in Haguenau , Alsace ) is a French rally and automobile racing driver .
Loeb made his debut in the 1999 World Rally Championship and has been a works driver for Citroën since 2001 . To date, he has achieved nine world championship titles ( 2004 , 2005 , 2006 , 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 and 2012 ), 79 World Rally Championship victories and over 1,600 World Championship points. In the World Rally Championship he holds the record for points won , special stages , rallies, certain rallies in a row, individual rally victories in a row and world championships. This makes him not only the most successful rally driver, but also one of the most successful motor sportsmen ever, and one of the most successful French athletes in history.
Born in Alsace , nicknamed “Super Séb” by the media, he achieved all of his successes in the world championship with the Monaco co-driver Daniel Elena . His wife Séverine was a co-driver at some smaller rally events.
Loeb occasionally takes part in circuit races. His greatest success here is second place in the 2006 Le Mans 24-hour race . He also won the Race of Champions in 2003, 2005 and 2008 .
Career
Childhood and youth
Sébastien Loeb was born on February 26, 1974 as the only child of Guy and Ingrid Loeb (died 2005 and 2012) in Haguenau and grew up in Oberhofen an der Moder in Alsace. In his childhood he practiced artistic gymnastics and became a four-time Alsatian champion, once a champion in Eastern France and fifth in the French championship. In his youth he drove moped races and also took part in some official competitions. After dropping out of school two years earlier, he began training as an electrical engineer at Socalec in Haguenau in September 1994 . He graduated in August 1995 and was employed by the company.
Rallying
1995–1997: Entry into rallying
Loeb used the money he earned to buy a Renault 5 GT Turbo . He started driving some local rally events in 1995. In the same year he took part in the Jeunes Rally in a Peugeot 106 , where the Fédération française du sport automobile spotted young rally drivers. Although he reached the final, another driver was preferred. When he participated again in 1996, he also failed in the final. At the start of his career, he still lacked the money. He got help when Dominique Heintz and Rémi Mammosser's Ambition Sport Auto team became aware of Loeb. In 1997 they provided him with the financial means and a Peugeot 106. He initially took part in a regional rally with Heintz in the passenger seat. Then he contested the brand cup Volant 106 with a new co-driver . There he won all four rallies for 1300 cc vehicles. He then took part in two rallies for vehicles up to 1600 cm³ and did well there too. In the overall ranking, he finished eighth at the end of the year. As early as 1997, Loeb began working with Daniel Elena from Monegas as a co-driver.
1998–2000: From amateur to professional
In 1998 Loeb switched to the Citroën Saxo Kit Car and competed in the Citroën Saxo Kit Car Cup . He finished all rallies in which he crossed the finish line as the winner. He finished the season in sixth place overall. However, he also destroyed two vehicles in accidents and brought his team Ambition Sport Auto into financial difficulties. In March 1999 Loeb left his previous employer Socalec after mutual agreement in order to be able to concentrate fully on rallying. In 1999 he won the Citroën Saxo Kit Car Cup and thus achieved his first title in rallying. In the same year he also joined the Equipe de France FFSA , which enabled him to take his first steps in the World Rally Championship . After retiring from his debut, the Rally Catalonia , he finished the Rally Corsica and the Rally San Remo as the best-placed driver with an A6 vehicle . In addition, at the Rallye Catalonia, outside of the competition, he got the opportunity to do his first laps in a World Rally Car , a Seat Cordoba WRC .
At the start of the 2000 season, Ambition Sport Auto prepared Loeb a Citroën Saxo Kit Car for a run in the French Gravel Rally Championship. He achieved class victory in the 2WD vehicles. Then Citroën and the two sponsors Jean-Pierre Champeau and Frédéric Schmitt became aware of Loeb and supported him for the rest of the season. Loeb continued to take class wins and won the championship for 2WD vehicles. In the overall ranking of the gravel championship, he took third place. He also drove a World Rally Car, a Toyota Corolla WRC of the Equipe de France FFSA, for the first time in the World Rally Championship in 2000 . This placed him in the top ten in his missions in Corsica and San Remo, albeit outside the points. For the season finale of the French rally championship on asphalt, the Rallye du Var , Citroën sports director Guy Fréquelin provided him with a Citroën Xsara kit car . Loeb took his chance and achieved the overall victory in the rally. Fréquelin then offered him his first professional contract as a works driver at Citroën. Loeb finished the French Asphalt Championship in eighth place.
2001–2003: First WRC successes as a Citroën works driver
As a driver in the Citroën works team, Loeb contested most of the 2001 season in the World Rally Championship for Super 1600 vehicles as part of the WRC. In the Citroën Saxo S1600, he won his class in all five rallies he has driven, including the Rally Catalonia, Rally Greece , Rally Finland , Rally Corsica and Rally Great Britain . At the San Remo Rally, however, he did not start in the Super 1600 class. Instead, his team boss and mentor Guy Fréquelin enabled him to make his first appearance in the Citroën Xsara WRC in San Remo . Loeb scored right away four special stage -Bestzeiten and had at the end of the rally only a few seconds Gilles Panizzi beaten. Nevertheless, with second place he achieved his best result so far in the world championship as well as his first WRC points. At the end of the season, the title in the Super 1600 World Cup and 14th place in the overall standings were clear points ahead. In addition, he was still active in 2001 in the Citroën Xsara Kit Car in the French rally championship on asphalt. There he won all six rallies in which he crossed the finish line and was French champion with a large point advantage.
In 2002 Loeb got a permanent place in the Citroën Xsara WRC. The season was more of a "training year" than a serious attack on the world championship, as he only took part in 9 of 14 WRC rallies. Loeb was the fastest driver at the season opener, the Monte Carlo Rally , but was subsequently given a time penalty for a prohibited tire change and thus fell back to second place behind Tommi Mäkinen . After having achieved only average results in the meantime, he celebrated his first WRC victory at the Rally Germany in August . He finished the season in tenth place in the drivers' standings.
In 2003 Loeb and the Citroën Total World Rally Team contested a full season in the World Rally Championship for the first time. He won the rallies in Monte Carlo, Germany and San Remo. His reputation continued to rise during the season as Loeb stood up to his highly valued teammates Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae , who both delivered weaker results. Before the final Rally Great Britain, Loeb was one point ahead of Petter Solberg . However, he received express instructions from his team to drive defensively so as not to endanger the championship in the manufacturers' championship for Citroën after Sainz was eliminated. Loeb obeyed and ended the rally in second place behind Solberg and missed the world title by just one point.
2004–2006: WRC title in the Citroën Xsara WRC
In 2004 , Loeb began to dominate the World Rally Championship, similar to Michael Schumacher's at that time in Formula 1 . Loeb, who was previously considered an asphalt specialist, was now increasingly successful on gravel as well. This year he not only won the rallies in Monte Carlo and Germany, but also the Cyprus Rally, Turkey Rally and Australia Rally , which were held on gravel . He was also the first non-Scandinavian driver to win the Rally Sweden on snow. By the end of the season he had achieved a total of six wins and six second places. In doing so, he equalized the record of Frenchman Didier Auriol , who in 1992 also won six WRC rallies within one season. Loeb led the drivers' championship with a 36-point lead over his closest rival, Petter Solberg. Thus, in 2004, he won his first world title.
In 2005 Loeb further expanded its dominance in the WRC. That year he set several records. At the ninth round of the season, the Rally Argentina , he won his sixth WRC victory in a row, something that no driver has achieved before. At the fourth round of the season, the Rally Japan , he secured the title early. Loeb won a total of 10 out of 16 rallies, including the Monte Carlo Rally, the New Zealand Rally , the Sardinia Rally , the Cyprus Rally, the Turkey Rally, the Greece Rally, the Argentina Rally, the Germany Rally, the Corsica Rally and the Catalonia Rally . With his ten wins in 2005, he was now the sole record holder for the largest number of WRC victories per season. At the Corsica Rally, he was the first driver to win all the special stages of a WRC rally. At the end of the season, he was 56 points ahead of second-placed Petter Solberg in the drivers' championship. Never before has a driver won the World Rally Championship by such a large margin. In addition, Loeb managed to get on the podium 12 times in a row and in the points 13 times in a row, with which he also set new records.
After the 2005 season, the Citroën works team withdrew from the World Rally Championship in order to concentrate fully on the development of a new rally car. Loeb therefore switched to the Belgian private team Kronos Racing , which continued to compete in the Citroën Xsara WRC in the World Rally Championship in 2006 with factory support from Citroën. His new teammate was the 22-year-old Spaniard Daniel Sordo . At the beginning of the season it looked as if Loeb would have a serious competitor in the fight for the world championship this year. Loeb had to admit defeat to the Finn Marcus Grönholm in the first two rallies in Monte Carlo and Sweden . However, while Grönholm's achievements subsequently waned, Loeb proved constancy. In the further course of the season he won the Rally Mexico , the Rally Catalonia, the Rally Corsica, the Rally Argentina, the Rally Sardinia, the Rally Germany, the Rally Japan and the Rally Cyprus. It is also remarkable that he always crossed the finish line in all twelve rallies and never finished worse than second. In September, however, he broke his upper arm when he fell on a mountain bike and was therefore unable to compete in the last four World Championship races of the season. At this point, however, his point advantage was already so great that his worst competitor, Grönholm, would have won three rallies and would have had to be at least third once to take the world title. Grönholm actually won three more rallies, but only finished fifth in Australia. As a result, Loeb was still one point ahead at the end of the season and became world champion for the third time in a row.
2007–2010: WRC title in the Citroën C4 WRC
Citroën returned to the world championship in 2007 with the new Citroën C4 WRC . Loeb left Kronos Racing and drove again for the Citroën works team. He was able to win the first rally with the new vehicle, the Monte Carlo Rally. He then drove further victories in the WRC rallies in Mexico, Portugal , Argentina, Germany, Catalonia, Corsica and Ireland . In preparation for the Rally Ireland, which was new to the WRC calendar this season, Loeb also took part in two smaller rallies in Ireland and finished both as winners. At the New Zealand Rally he had to admit defeat to his strongest opponent, Marcus Grönholm, by just 0.3 seconds. Up until that point, it was the tightest decision in WRC history. Despite everything, Loeb was no longer as superior in 2007 as in previous years. After the duel for the title remained open for a long time, he only secured his fourth world title in a row at the final Rally Great Britain. His lead over Grönholm was four points in the final accounting.
In 2008 Loeb started its second season with the Citroën C4 WRC. After the resignation of Groenholm, he had lost his greatest competitor. Loeb determined the events in the world championship again alone and was able to celebrate a total of eleven wins, which he surpassed his record from 2005. He won the rallies in Monte Carlo, Mexico, Argentina, Sardinia, Greece, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Catalonia, Corsica and Great Britain. His only retirement this year was at the Rally Sweden. At the penultimate round of the season, the Rally Japan, he won the world championship for the fifth time ahead of schedule. He replaced Juha Kankkunen and Tommi Mäkinen and was now the sole record holder of the number of WRC titles. At the end of the season, Loeb was 19 points ahead of Finn Mikko Hirvonen . With his high score, Loeb also made a significant contribution to Citroën's first design engineer title since 2005.
Loeb started the 2009 season with five straight wins at the first five WRC events, including rallies in Ireland, Norway , Cyprus, Portugal and Argentina. However, a few driving errors prevented good results in the following three rallies. So he lost the lead in the championship to Mikko Hirvonen. Loeb also had to admit defeat to Hirvonen in the Rally Finland and the Rally Australia. Although he was the fastest driver in Australia, an additional time penalty for illegal stabilizers threw him back to second place. In the last two rallies of the season in Catalonia and Great Britain, however, Loeb won again. This brought him back the lead in the championship and at the end of the season he had one point more than Hirvonen on his points account. So he almost achieved his sixth world title. At the end of the year he also made a guest appearance in the French rally championship at the Rallye du Var, from which he emerged as the winner.
At the Rally Sweden at the beginning of the 2010 season, Loeb initially achieved second place. This was followed by victories in the gravel rallies in Mexico, Jordan and Turkey. As a result, Loeb once again clearly set itself apart from its competitors in the driver standings. In the further course of the season nobody could put Loeb under serious pressure. After Loeb had meanwhile won the Rally Bulgaria , he also won the Rally Germany again . Not only had he won the German WRC round eight times in a row since it was first held in 2002, but was also the first driver ever to win a certain WRC rally eight times. In October he won his home rally, the Rally France in Alsace, where he secured his seventh world title ahead of schedule. He also finished victorious in the last two rallies in Catalonia and Great Britain. Overall, Loeb saw the finish line in all 13 WRC rallies in 2010 and placed on the podium 12 times.
2011: WRC in the Citroën DS3 WRC
Before the 2011 season , Loeb initially announced that he would end his career at the end of 2011. Most recently, he only signed one-year contracts at Citroën so that he could keep all options open and not have to plan too long-term. Since 2011 Loeb has been competing in the World Rally Championship with a Citroën DS3 WRC of the new generation of World Rally Cars. Unlike its predecessors, the vehicle is no longer equipped with a 2-liter turbo engine, but with a 1.6-liter turbo engine. Loeb won the Rally Mexico , the Rally Sardinia , the Rally Argentina and the Rally Finland . He is the only non-Finnish driver to win the latter event twice. A few days before the Rally Germany , Loeb extended his contract with his regular employer for a further two years. He left the option open after the 2012 season. At the Rallye Deutschland, after losing 75 seconds of time due to a puncture, he only achieved second place overall behind Sébastien Ogier . As a result, two of his winning streaks were interrupted by his own team-mate: Loeb had been in Germany since 2002 and had been the undefeated long-term winner in asphalt rallies since 2004 . After driving nine rallies, he led the drivers' standings with a 25-point lead over his team-mate Sébastien Ogier. At the next Rally Australia to be held, Loeb, who was in the lead, rolled over five times on the fourth special stage. As the first vehicle on the track, with a two-second lead over his team-mate, Loeb compared his and the intermediate times of those following him on the display and braked too little before a right-hand bend. The leadership passed to his teammate Ogier. Ogier had an accident on a tree on the sixth special stage. The driver and front passenger were uninjured. Overall leadership went to Ford works drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala . The two DS3 WRCs could be repaired and made ready overnight. Under Superally regulations , Loeb started the next day with a 30 minute penalty and Ogier with a 20 minute penalty. Latvala took over the lead from his team-mate on the first special stage of the day. Due to their time penalties, Ogier started from 16th and Loeb from 21st place to catch up for world championship points. It looked as if Loeb would not achieve a World Championship point for the first time since the 2009 Rally Greece . The positions of the first three drivers did not change until the penultimate special stage of the next day. Ogier had meanwhile worked his way up to ninth place overall and the chance of taking eighth place from the slower PWRC vehicle in front of him was great. Loeb had meanwhile moved up to twelfth place. In this special stage, both Ford and Citroën issued a stable management that is permitted in rallying . Latvala stopped just before the finish to give Hirvonen 28 seconds and the win. Ogier deliberately received a 50-second time penalty when he started this special stage 5 minutes too late, and then parked next to the track. He intentionally lost an additional nine minutes to give Loeb a championship point. After this one-two Ford victory, Ford shortened the gap in the Manufacturers' World Championship to 62 points. Mikko Hirvonen was now 15 points behind Loeb in second place in the drivers' championship. Loeb traveled to his home rally in France as a top favorite. However, while in the lead, he retired on the third special stage. The reason for Loeb's first failure due to technical problems since the Rally Sweden 2008 was an engine problem caused by an assembly error. At the Catalonia Rally , which he won for the seventh time in a row, he broke Markku Alén's record of special stage best times and secured his team the early Manufacturers' World Championship title. After Mikko Hirvonen, his only remaining competitor for the world title, had been eliminated at the season finale in Great Britain , Loeb won his eighth driver world title before the end of the event. Loeb was involved in a traffic accident on the connecting route between the 18th and 19th special stages by a Spanish wrong-way driver. All those involved were unharmed, but the cooler of the DS3 WRC was damaged and Loeb had to give up. The way to victory was now clear for Jari-Matti Latvala, but nothing changed at the top places in the World Cup.
2012: Title rivals become team-mates
In mid-2011, the FIA announced the abolition of the starting order regulations that discriminate against the World Cup leaders. Loeb then decided to stay at the World Rally Championship and extended his contract with the Citroën Total World Rally Team . Until then, Ogier, who had been promoted as Loeb's successor and was sometimes preferred, felt disadvantaged and wanted to join a team where he could compete against Loeb for the World Cup. In November 2011 it was announced that Ogier's contract had been terminated. For the 2012 season , the Citroën Total World Rally Team signed long-time Ford works driver Mikko Hirvonen as the new number 2 driver alongside Loeb.
In his seventh participation in the Monte Carlo Rally - which had not been part of the World Rally Championship for the past three years - Loeb won for the sixth time. He won overly and also secured the three bonus points of the power stage. On Swedish snow, Loeb only achieved sixth place. He won the Rally Mexico, but retired from the subsequent Rally Portugal. He won the next five World Cup races in Argentina, Greece, New Zealand, Finland and Germany in a row. In Great Britain, he finished second overall. At his home rally in Alsace, the eleventh of thirteen World Cup races in 2012, he scored his eighth win of the season and won his ninth world title ahead of schedule. Together with his new team-mate who is constantly collecting points, he also succeeded in winning the constructors' world championship title at the France rally.
2015–2018: The last WRC rallies for the time being
Loeb came back surprisingly for the start of the season (The Monte Carlo Rally) in 2015, finished 8th and turned his back on the WRC for the time being. In December 2017, Loeb announced that he would be returning for 3 rallies (Mexico, France and Catalonia). He finished 5th in Mexico and only 14th in France, after an accident. In Spain he celebrated his 79th (and thus last) victory (as of October 30, 2018).
Dakar and other rallies
In 2016 he took part in the Dakar Rally for the first time as a member of the Peugeot Total team and finished ninth in the overall car ranking. He finished second at the 2017 Dakar.
At the 2017 Silk Road rally, Loeb had to give up due to a finger injury that he sustained in an accident on the ninth stage. At that time, he was leading the overall standings.
Race of Champions
Sébastien Loeb is also a regular guest at the Race of Champions , where the top drivers from various racing series come together at the end of the year and compete against each other in KO mode . When he participated for the first time in 2002, he finished second behind Marcus Grönholm . In 2003 he won his first victory after beating Grönholm in the final. In 2004 he had to admit defeat to Heikki Kovalainen in the final, but he won the Nations Cup for France with Jean Alesi . In 2005 Loeb triumphed over Tom Kristensen in the final and thus took his second individual victory at the ROC. In 2006 he was defeated by Mattias Ekström in the final, even though both drivers drove a Citroën Xsara WRC, with which Loeb had previously won the World Rally Championship. After being suspended in 2007, Loeb returned to the ROC at Wembley in 2008 . In the final he prevailed against David Coulthard and achieved his third individual victory. His next participation in the ROC followed in 2010 when he lost in the final to the young Portuguese Filipe Albuquerque .
Sports car racing
Between his appearances in the World Rally Championship, Sébastien Loeb also took part in a few sports car races on circuits.
In 2005 , Loeb competed in the Le Mans 24-hour race for the first time . He had prepared on the simulator with Gran Turismo 4 . During the race he shared the cockpit of a Pescarolo C60 Hybrid from Pescarolo Sport with his teammates Éric Hélary and Soheil Ayari . The Pescarolo with a 5-liter V10 naturally aspirated engine from Judd started the race as one of the toughest rivals for the Audi R8 . However, Loeb's vehicle initially fell back due to a tire damage and was finally thrown out of the race after an accident four and a half hours before the end of the race. In 2006 Loeb started again in the Pescarolo C60 Hybrid at Le Mans, now alongside Éric Hélary and Franck Montagny . He and his colleagues achieved second place and were four laps behind the victorious Audi R10 TDI . He even left the second factory Audi behind. Loeb then turned his back on the long-distance classic again, as he saw no chance of winning against the superior diesel Audi and wanted to concentrate fully on the World Rally Championship again. At the end of 2008 and 2009, he did test drives with the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP , but the vehicle was not yet able to participate in a race.
In September 2008 Loeb started the two races of the Porsche Carrera Cup France on the Circuit d'Albi . He drove the Porsche 997 GT3 Cup from Porsche France in the first run in seventh place, in the second run he retired after a collision. At the same race weekend he also contested the two races of the French GT championship in the Porsche 997 GT3 RSR from Pro GT by Almeras with teammate Jean-Pierre Champeau . He finished the first race in 15th place and had to give up the second race early.
In April 2009, Loeb took part in the FFSA Super Series on the Circuit de Nogaro . During the race weekend he contested both races of the French Porsche Carrera Cup and the two races of the French GT championship. In the Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello by Solution F he was with teammate Ange Barde in the first round of the French GT Championship in fifth in the second race, however, only twelfth. With the vehicle used by Pro GT by Almeras in the Porsche Carrera Cup, he finished the races in ninth and eighth place.
Loeb's next start in the French GT Championship was in June 2010 on the Circuit du Val de Vienne , where he drove a Ferrari F430 GT3 with Jean-Pierre Champeau . He finished the first run in 14th and the second run in ninth. In October he started with Daniel Sordo in a Porsche 997 GT3 R from Pro GT by Almeras for the races of the International GT Open on the Circuit de Catalunya . After finishing the first race in 14th place, he dropped out in the second race.
At the end of October 2011 Loeb gave another guest appearance in circuit racing at the Paul Ricard Circuit. In the French Porsche Carrera Cup he achieved second place behind the champion Kévin Estre in the first race with a vehicle from the Pulsat - Racing Technology team , and came third in the second. In the French GT Championship, he and his team-mate Bruno Hernandez at the wheel of a Ferrari 458 Italia from AF Corse finished tenth in race one and fifth in race two.
On the same weekend, Loeb announced his plans for the future after rallying. He and his friend Dominique Heintz would like to found their own team under the name Sebastien Loeb Racing . Starting in 2012, the team will field two vehicles in the Porsche Carrera Cup France and one Formula Le Mans vehicle in the Le Mans Series . In 2014 Loeb would like to tackle the Le Mans 24 Hours again with an LMP2 vehicle.
In 2013, he won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in a specially prepared Peugeot 208 T16 , improving Rhys Millen's record from the previous year by more than a minute and a half.
Formula 1 plans
Sébastien Loeb completed a few test drives with Formula 1 vehicles. In December 2007 he tested the Renault R26 on the Paul Ricard Circuit . After his fifth WRC title, he was invited by Red Bull Racing to the official Formula 1 winter test drives at the Circuit de Catalunya in November 2008 , after having driven the car 100 kilometers at Silverstone . With the Red Bull RB4 he set the eighth fastest time of 17 participants in Barcelona and was 1.8 seconds behind the fastest time.
When Sébastien Bourdais was kicked out of Scuderia Toro Rosso in the middle of 2009 , Loeb expressed interest in the vacated cockpit. Citroën sports director Olivier Quesnel wanted Loeb to finish the WRC season first, but would have released him for a Formula 1 race afterwards. For the Formula 1 season finale, the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix , Red Bull Loeb offered to let him start in the Toro Rosso STR4 . However, the FIA refused Loeb the super license because he had too little experience in circuit races. So Formula 1 was no longer an issue for him. Previously, he was also considered a candidate for a cockpit with the US F1 team for the 2010 season.
A few weeks before the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Loeb took part in the winter test drives of the GP2 series at the Circuito de Jerez . On the third day of testing in the rainy morning session in David Price Racing's GP2 car , he achieved 18th time out of 25 participants, around 2.6 seconds behind the best time. In the drier afternoon session, he reduced his gap to the top to around 2.1 seconds, but was only in 25th place at the bottom. Loeb then explained that the GP2 test came about through a private connection with a DPR engineer and was not intended as preparation for the Formula 1 race.
X-Games
When Sébastien Loeb first took part in the X-Games , he won the gold medal in rallycross in Los Angeles. The appearance came about through a cooperation between sponsor Red Bull, Citroën Racing and Hansen Motorsport . He drove the 545 hp rallycross -Citroën DS3 of Tatarstan - Russian Timur Timerzyanov. The Frenchman thus met a challenge that the American Travis Pastrana , also sponsored by Red Bull , raised some time ago.
WTCC
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In 2014 Loeb competed for Citroën Total WTCC with a Citroën C-Elysée WTCC in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC). He already achieved second place in his debut race in Marrakech . Loeb scored his first victory in the second race in Marrakech. With a second place in the third race in Le Castellet , Loeb has meanwhile taken the lead in the world championship. He achieved his second win of the season at the seventh race of the season on the Slovakia Ring. Loeb finished his debut season in third place behind his teammates José María López and Yvan Muller . In 2015 Loeb stayed with Citroën in the World Touring Car Championship. As in the previous year, Loeb won the second race that took place in Río Hondo this year . More victories followed on the Slovakia Ring, in Le Castellet and Buriram . As in the previous year, Loeb was third overall behind his teammates López and Muller.
Rallycross
On February 29, 2016 it was officially announced that Loeb will contest all 12 rounds of the 2016 FIA World Rallycross Championship in the Swedish Peugeot-Hansen team . His team mate in the factory-supported team will be the Swede Timmy Hansen, the older son of 14-time European Rallycross Champion Kenneth Hansen . Both Hansen Junior and Loeb aim to become rallycross world champions for drivers as they compete for the FIA World Championship title for rallycross teams. They use so-called Peugeot 208 rallycross supercars with up to 600 hp as vehicles . Loeb had previously competed in rallycross races sporadically. In July 2012 he won the gold medal of rallycross drivers at the X Games in Los Angeles with a Citroën DS3 Supercar from Hansen Motorsport, at the French Rallycross European Championship in Lohéac in 2013 he had a Citroën DS3 Supercar from the team of his compatriot Hervé “Knapick” Lemonnier can drive into the semi-finals.
Personal
Sébastien Loeb is married to Séverine, has a daughter and lives in the Swiss community of Bougy-Villars on Lake Geneva .
Honors
The sports newspaper L'Équipe voted Sébastien Loeb 2007 and 2009 together with Daniel Elena as France's Sportsman of the Year (“ Champion des champions ”). On May 27, 2009, French President Nicolas Sarkozy appointed Loeb Knight of the Legion of Honor .
statistics
title
| season | title | Co-driver | vehicle |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | World rally champion for Super 1600 vehicles | Daniel Elena | Citroën Saxo S1600 |
| 2001 | French rally champion | Citroën Xsara Kit Car | |
| 2004 | World rally champion | Citroën Xsara WRC | |
| 2005 | |||
| 2006 | |||
| 2007 | Citroën C4 WRC | ||
| 2008 | |||
| 2009 | |||
| 2010 | |||
| 2011 | Citroën DS3 WRC | ||
| 2012 |
WRC victories
|
|
Individual results WRC
.svg){kind=small}
| Legend | ||
|---|---|---|
| colour | abbreviation | meaning |
| gold | - | victory |
| silver | - | 2nd place |
| bronze | - | 3rd place |
| green | - | Placement in the points |
| blue | - | Classified outside the point ranks |
| violet | DNF | Race not finished (did not finish) |
| NC | not classified | |
| red | DNQ | did not qualify |
| DNPQ | failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify) | |
| black | DSQ | disqualified |
| White | DNS | not at the start (did not start) |
| WD | withdrawn | |
| Light Blue | PO | only participated in the training (practiced only) |
| TD | Friday test driver | |
| without | DNP | did not participate in the training (did not practice) |
| INJ | injured or sick | |
| EX | excluded | |
| DNA | did not arrive | |
| C. | Race canceled | |
| no participation in the World Cup | ||
| other | P / bold | Pole position |
| SR / italic | Fastest race lap | |
| * | not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered |
|
| () | Streak results | |
| underlined | Leader in the overall standings | |
Le Mans results
| year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 |
Pescarolo sport
|
Pescarolo C60 Hybrid |
Eric Helary
|
Soheil Ayari
|
failure | accident |
| 2006 |
Pescarolo sport
|
Pescarolo C60 Hybrid |
Eric Helary
|
Franck Montagny
|
Rank 2 |
Individual results in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC)
| year | team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14th | 15th | 16 | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st | 22nd | 23 | 24 | Points | rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Citroën Total WTCC |
 MAR
|
FRA
|
 HUN
|
 SLK
|
 AUT
|
 RUS
|
 BEL
|
 ARG
|
 CHN
|
CHN
|
 JPN
|
 MAC
|
295 | 3. | ||||||||||||
| 2 2 | 1 | 2 | 6th | 7 3 | 9 | 1 2 | C. | 4 3 | 7th | 3 4 | 5 | 3 2 | 5 | 4 3 | 6th | 5 | 3 | 4 5 | 12 | 3 3 | 7th | 6 2 | 6th | ||||
| 2015 | Citroën Total WTCC |
ARG
|
MAR
|
HUN
|
 GER
|
RUS
|
SLK
|
FRA
|
 PRT
|
JPN
|
CHN
|
 THA
|
 QAT
|
356 | 3. | ||||||||||||
| 3 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 4 | 5 | 2 3 | 5 | 9 | 7th | 3 3 | 1 | 1 1 | DNF | 2 2 | 15 * | 6 3 | 4th | 3 4 | 4th | 2 2 | 1 | 4 3 | 4th | ||||
- Legend
| Legend | ||
|---|---|---|
| colour | abbreviation | meaning |
| gold | - | victory |
| silver | - | 2nd place |
| bronze | - | 3rd place |
| green | - | Placement in the points |
| blue | - | Classified outside the point ranks |
| violet | DNF | Race not finished (did not finish) |
| NC | not classified | |
| red | DNQ | did not qualify |
| DNPQ | failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify) | |
| black | DSQ | disqualified |
| White | DNS | not at the start (did not start) |
| WD | withdrawn | |
| Light Blue | PO | only participated in the training (practiced only) |
| TD | Friday test driver | |
| without | DNP | did not participate in the training (did not practice) |
| INJ | injured or sick | |
| EX | excluded | |
| DNA | did not arrive | |
| C. | Race canceled | |
| no participation in the World Cup | ||
| other | P / bold | Pole position |
| SR / italic | Fastest race lap | |
| * | not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered |
|
| () | Streak results | |
| underlined | Leader in the overall standings | |
- 1 : first in qualifying, 2 : second in qualifying, ...
Web links
- Official website (French / English)
- Results and statistics on eWRC-results.com
- WRC statistics on juwra.com
- Sports car results on RacingSportsCars.com
Individual evidence
- ^ Décès d'Ingrid Loeb, mère de Sébastien Loeb , Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace , September 28, 2012 (accessed October 8, 2012) (French)
- ↑ Celui qui tirait des câbles ( Memento of September 9, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace, September 7, 2010, (French)
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Sébastien Loeb in portrait (Motorsport-Magazin.com on November 2, 2006)
- ↑ Result of the Rallye International du Var 2000 ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ^ "Grand Slam" for high-flyer Loeb ( AutoBild.de on October 24, 2005)
- ↑ Sebastien Loeb goes to Kronos ( Memento from July 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (Rallye-Magazin.de on November 4, 2005)
- ↑ Shock: Loeb breaks arm ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) (Rallye-Magazin.de on September 27, 2006)
- ↑ Australia, day 3: Hirvonen wins - Loeb World Champion (Motorsport-Magazin.com on October 29, 2006)
- ↑ Loeb is looking forward to the new season (Motorsport-Total.com on January 8, 2007)
- ↑ Rally New Zealand: Review of the duel for tenths (Motorsport-Total.com on September 4, 2007)
- ↑ Loeb: "My hottest competitive title" (Motorsport-Total.com on December 2, 2007)
- ↑ Loeb: "Victory is the icing on the cake" (Motorsport-Total.com on December 7, 2008)
- ↑ Record champion Loeb: "A fantastic feeling!" (Motorsport-Total.com on November 2, 2008)
- ↑ Loeb loses victory at the Green Table (Motorsport-Total.com on September 6, 2009)
- ↑ Loeb: "That is my best title!" (Motorsport-Total.com on October 26, 2009)
- ↑ Rally du Var: Loebs siegen, Kubica 29. (Motorsport-Total.com on November 30, 2009)
- ↑ Loeb: "A joy to win in Germany" (Motorsport-Total.com on August 22, 2010)
- ↑ Haguenau trembles: Title number seven for Loeb! (Motorsport-Total.com on October 3, 2010)
- ↑ Loeb announces: After 2011 it will be over (Motorsport-Total.com on September 23, 2010)
- ↑ Small error, big effect ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) (Rallye-Magazin.de on September 9, 2011)
- ↑ Hirvonen wins with team help ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) (Rallye-Magazin.de on September 11, 2011)
- ↑ Alen: "Loeb has earned the record" (Motorsport-Total.com on October 28, 2011)
- ↑ Loeb again world champion! ( Memento from November 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (Rallye-Magazin.de on November 11, 2011)
- ↑ Loeb explains Rally GB exit (wrc.com on November 13, 2011)
- ↑ Hirvonen replaces Ogier at Citroen (wrc.com on November 16, 2011)
- ^ Rallye Monte Carlo 2015: VW triple victory at the season opener! In: ir7.at. January 25, 2015, accessed February 15, 2020 .
- ↑ https://de.motorsport.com/wrc/news/wrc-sebastien-loeb-kehrt-2018-fur-drei-rallyes-zuruck-989951/1487223/
- ↑ https://www.motorsport-total.com/wrc/news/wrc-rallye-spanien-2018-comeback-sieg-fuer-sebastien-loeb-18102801
- ↑ http://www.lepoint.fr/sport/rallye-dakar-peterhansel-l-emporte-en-auto-loeb-9e-16-01-2016-2010574_26.php
- ↑ http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/grand-est/dakar-2017-sebastien-loeb-finit-deuxieme-1174841.html
- ↑ https://www.lequipe.fr/Rallye-raid/Actualites/Sebastien-loeb-abandonne/818977
- ^ Result of the Race of Champions 2002
- ^ Result of the Race of Champions 2003
- ^ Result of the Race of Champions 2004
- ^ Result of the Race of Champions 2005
- ^ Result of the Race of Champions 2006
- ^ Result of the Race of Champions 2008
- ^ Result of the Race of Champions 2010
- ↑ Sebastien Loeb Plays GT4 Online Part 1 (video on YouTube )
- ↑ Audi and Michelin dominate Le Mans (Motorsport-Magazin.com on June 20, 2005)
- ↑ Perfect result for Loeb in Le Mans (Motorsport-Magazin.com on June 19, 2006)
- ↑ Loeb: "No Le Mans this year for me" (Motorsport-Total.com on February 15, 2007)
- ↑ Loeb and Sarrazin swap cars (Motorsport-Total.com on November 11, 2008)
- ↑ Loeb: 2009 probably no longer a start in the Peugeot 908 (Motorsport-Total.com on September 8, 2009)
- ↑ Loeb with a guest appearance in the Porsche Cup (Motorsport-Total.com on September 12, 2008)
- ↑ Loeb drives a racing Porsche and GT1 Ferrari (Motorsport-Total.com on March 25, 2009)
- ↑ Loeb makes a guest start in the GT3 (Motorsport-Total.com on June 25, 2010)
- ↑ Loeb and Sordo start at GT-Open (Motorsport-Total.com on October 21, 2010)
- ↑ Loeb surprises on the circuit ( Memento from November 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (Rallye-Magazin.de on October 29, 2011)
- ↑ Loeb is preparing his future: Le Mans! (Motorsport-Total.com on October 30, 2011)
- ↑ Loeb sets new record on Pikes Peak (Motorsport-Total.com on June 30, 2013)
- ↑ Loeb: "I've already driven blind" (redbulletin.com, January 2016. Accessed April 6, 2016.)
- ↑ Kovalainen and Loeb swap their cars (Motorsport-Total.com on December 6, 2007)
- ↑ Loeb is preparing for the Red Bull test (Motorsport-Total.com on November 15, 2008)
- ↑ Wurz: "Loeb is an exceptional talent" (Motorsport-Total.com on November 19, 2008)
- ↑ Bourdais cockpit: Sébastien Loeb registers interest (Motorsport-Total.com on July 11, 2009)
- ↑ Loeb no short-term Bourdais replacement (Motorsport-Total.com on July 12, 2009)
- ↑ Interview: Loeb buries the Formula 1 dream (Motorsport-Total.com on October 22, 2009)
- ↑ Loeb on the US F1 list (Motorsport-Total.com on August 25, 2009)
- ↑ Jerez: Ericsson in front, Loeb far behind (Motorsport-Total.com on October 8, 2009)
- ↑ Loeb: GP2 test not as Formula 1 preparation (Motorsport-Total.com on October 9, 2009)
- ↑ Summer X Games Los Angeles 2012 - Results: RallyCross (espn.go.com, accessed July 3, 2012)
- ↑ X Games Los Angeles 2012: RallyCross Finals (youtube.com, accessed July 3, 2012)
- ↑ Manuel Schulz: WTCC - Citroen extended with Loeb, Lopez and Muller. You don't change a winning team. Motorsport-Magazin.com, November 15, 2014, accessed February 28, 2015 .
- ↑ Loeb, Elena élus ( Memento from June 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) ( lequipe.fr on December 26, 2009)
- ↑ Accolade for rally star: Order of Merit for Sebastien Loeb ( auto-motor-und-sport.de on May 28, 2009)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Loeb, Sebastien |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French rally driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 26, 1974 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Haguenau , Alsace , France |