Sebastien Loeb is synonymous with rallying. The historic driver picked up nine world titles in the WRC (World Rally Championship) before taking part in the prestigious Dakar Rally for the first time in 2016.
Loeb won a total of 28 stages, but the overall victory is still missing from his resumé.
The Frenchman is all too eager to change that in early January with his brand new Dacia Sandrider.
Speaking exclusively to RacingNews365, Loeb discusses the new car and his motivation to succeed at the event.
"The preparation is going well," said Loeb. "After the Rally of Morocco, I started to focus more on myself, because the car is on the boat fully prepared for the Dakar Rally.
“The car went back to Prodrive after the rally in Morocco to renew it. The three cars were completely rebuilt, although we didn't have time to test the car between the Rally of Morocco and Dakar."
Loeb finished second in Morocco behind teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah. This was Dacia's debut, and the good result came as a surprise.
“We were hoping to be competitive, but we didn't know anything about the level of the competition. To be honest, at the moment we don't know exactly if anyone tried to hold back performance, but we did our best.
“For example, we drove at full power. If you look at how the rally went, we were happy. I was satisfied with the performance of the car, although we were confident about that as well."
The reliability was the only point of doubt, Loeb explained: "We were not 100 per cent sure, because in the last test session, we had some problems with the heat. In the end that also went well, although during the rally we did see that we were on the limit at different temperatures, regarding the engine and other parts on the car.
“Nevertheless, the result was good and the team kept working on the car, also to understand things and find solutions. I am confident that the car is ready for the Dakar Rally."
View Loeb's brand new Dacia below. The article continues after that.
The new adventure
As mentioned, Loeb is now competing for the win in the Dakar Rally after all his successes in the WRC.
But what was the main motivation for the Frenchman to take on the big adventure?
“I did it to discover something new. In motorsport, I've always liked changing surfaces and disciplines. That's why I really liked the WRC, because it's not as repetitive as it can be on a race track. But when I was in the WRC for a couple of years, I also enjoyed driving on a circuit and doing something different than normal.”
The Dakar Rally later came along as an opportunity.
“I was also doing rallycross and got the chance to participate in the Dakar Rally. I wanted to know what it was like. Now I've been doing it for a few years and I'm starting to get good experience. I'm really starting to enjoy the way it works in this race.”
Loeb, however, was not immediately convinced: “Honestly, I felt it after the first year. It was so long and boring. I thought the stages were too long and I was away from home for too long, but now I embrace it more as an adventure.
“I started to enjoy the long stages, working with the co-driver and living in the bivouac. I also have more and more motivation to win. I have been competing for seven or eight years now, with five podium finishes. Only I've never finished in first place."
'Very complicated' environment
It's not as simple as ABC to win, outlined Loeb, who has already showcased the necessary speed in the alternative setting.
"It's very complicated. In the Dakar, you need everything to win. Think of a good driver, a good navigator and avoiding problems as driver and navigator. In addition, you need to have a fast and reliable car. And even if all that is the case, you have to stay out of trouble for two weeks, even if you are not the fastest.
"I was regularly the fastest, but there was always a very bad stage in between where I lost everything. Every time it was just a little bit different, the reliability of the car was not the best. Last year the team worked hard on the Dacia to adapt it, so I hope we did a good job."
A good preparation was at least half the battle.
"I always have the motivation to win when I start a rally,” he said. “I hope we are better prepared than in the past because we tested a lot more.
”On the other hand, I also know it's a new car. It's never easy to win in the first year with a new car. However, the feeling in Morocco was good, so I'm definitely motivated," Loeb concluded.
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