Sebastian Loeb - the most famous French rally winner, who became the nine-time world champion and the owner of a huge number of points and awards for the WRC. We will tell you more about this leader, the “king of roads” in this publication.
Brief information from the life of the rider
This charming rallyster was born at the end of February 1974 in Agno, Alsace (France). Since childhood, he was fond of gymnastics, mechanics and electronics. Later, his hobby grew into a professional activity: Loeb became a qualified auto electrician. Later he began to attract beautiful sports cars and races, which later led him to a rally.
Training and first steps in a rally driver’s career
As it turned out later, Sebastian Loeb decided to reinforce his passion for car racing with knowledge. To do this, his parents sent him to study at the Citroen professional rally school, which he graduated with honors. This step was very important for the future champion.
The next stage was the first performance of a young man in 1998 in the international arena. True to tradition, Sebastian decided to choose Citroën Saxo as the first car.
At the same time, his mentor was the already well-known race car driver and rally navigator - Guy “Grizzly” Freklen. To the surprise of the young man himself, his first race showed excellent results, which allowed him to move further up the career ladder. And so began his activity in sports Sebastian Loeb. Although the biography does not reveal the details of the athlete’s childhood and youth, it describes in detail the beginning and current state of affairs in the career.
Racing and related successes
In early 1999, Sebastian was again invited to the annual rally, where he took part in three stages of the WRC. This time, the promising athlete was closer than ever to victory and worldwide recognition. And exactly three years later he finally managed to win the first world rally championship among juniors. From that moment, they seriously started talking about rally racing as the future champion.
By the 2002 rally, Sebastian Loeb (his photo can be seen below) decided to prepare for 100%. To do this, he trained a lot, and also developed his own travel strategy. As a result, his efforts were not in vain, as he managed to take second place at the first race in Monte Carlo. At the end of the season, the athlete became the tenth in the overall standings.
First loss and a sense of competition
In 2003, Sebastian faced one of the most serious rivals - Norwegian race car driver Peter Solberg, whom he lost, however, at the last stage of the second season. Despite the defeat, the rider managed to become the first in the Australian rally to light up in Germany, Monte Carlo, San Remo and the routes of Cyprus, Catalonia and the UK.
Seasons from 2004 to 2006
2004 was a decisive and victorious year for Sebastian. During the next annual rally, he managed to become a world champion. Exactly one year later, Sebastian Loeb won again and reinforced his champion title with another world award. 2006, on the contrary, was not successful for the guy, but brought new awards.
So, in the new season, the athlete received a kind of award associated with his personal record. The fact is that during his participation in the World Championship he never once took a place lower than the second. For example, during a rally in Sweden and Monte Carlo, the young rider was not able to get around Finn Markus Gronholm, and he took an honorable second place. However, participation in other series of the championship by chance made him a leader.
Then there were the rally of the Acropolis and Finland, and again the second place, the victory on the track in Germany, the unconditional win in Japan and Cyprus. Perhaps such a “swing” would have continued longer if Sebastian Loeb had not been injured.
This incident occurred in the Alps, where the champion went on a mountain bike ride. Due to negligence, he fell unsuccessfully and broke his arm. As a result, the four final stages of the World Cup went without him.
Seasons from 2007 to 2010
For the next three years in a row, starting in 2007, Loeb again became the world rally champion. Moreover, in 2009, the victory was given to him with great efforts, since the restless Finn Mikko Hirvonen became his opponent. Interestingly, everything was decided by the calculation of points. According to the panel of judges, Sebastian was only one point ahead of his opponent.
In 2010, at the WRS Rally, Sebastian Loeb won an undeniable victory and became the champion ahead of schedule. According to him, the positive aura of his native Agno, as well as the support of relatives and friends, helped him achieve such results.
The first rumors about ending a career
Despite a number of victories in sports, Sebastian began to think more seriously about ending his career. He spoke about this for the first time in September 2010. At that time, fans and fans of the athlete took what was said as a kind of joke. However, the rallyist confirmed his intention in early 2011. A little later, he will be able to implement his plan and seriously engage in the device of family life.
Immediately after the rumors that Sebastian Loeb was leaving the rally, representatives of Citroen “stirred”. According to them, so far there can be no question of leaving the athlete, as their contract with him was recently renewed. Sebastian himself a little later will again talk about leaving, but we will talk about this below.
This unsuccessful 2011
The next year 2011 began for the athlete completely unsuccessfully. During the first stage of the next World Championship, he was not able to take first place. On the contrary, unexpectedly for himself and others, he slipped to sixth place. However, in time, having gathered strength, Sebastian still finished, but already the second. According to him, penalty minutes prevented him from taking the first place, which he got out of his own stupidity and almost at the finish.
During the next races, Loeb won exclusively prizes. He even managed to score 171 points in the individual competition. However, during a rally that started in August of that year, Sebastian's team first took second place.
The cause of the loss was a wheel malfunction, which arose, again, just before the victory. Interestingly, at the penultimate stage, the driver's team was waiting for a pleasant surprise in the form of a reward for another record. As it turned out, the crew of Loeb for the first time in the history of the WRC took first place in the number of special stages he won. “And they had to go as many as 803, ” says Sebastian.
Partial Rally Out Report
2012 was a more successful year for Loeb, as it began with another victory on the racetrack in Monte Carlo. In the same period, the race driver decided to finally dot all the “ands” regarding his departure. He informed reporters about his decision during a large press conference held immediately after the international motor show in Paris.
The message was about a partial suspension of its activities. He also announced that he intends to continue to take part in competitions, but exclusively in individual races (and this is about 2-3 stages).
In addition, the chief pilot and navigator of Citroen spoke about his further participation in the World Touring Car Championship racing series. He shared the details of the new game simulator, created specifically for fans of auto racing and the athlete’s creativity. In this case, he was referring to the “Sebastian Loeb Rally Evo” (Sebastian Loeb Rally Evo), developed by the Italian company Miltstone.
