“Everything is heading in the right direction”

The greatest rally driver of all time assumed a low-key profile in 2016, in keeping with his quiet and reserved temperament, to tackle the challenge of the Dakar. But once he got his first taste of the Peugeot 2008 DKR his driving skills took full effect. The question quickly arose as to whether he would win in his first participation, as Ari Vatanen had done in 1987. But the Alsace native crashed out, and then in the following years, he experienced critical navigation errors, the injury of his co-driver and mechanical failures that shattered his victory plans... in short, a complete panoply of problems that can disrupt the race contenders on the Dakar. However, the nine-time world champion has never given up and returned after the end of the Peugeot adventure. First, in 2019 behind the wheel of a 3008 entered by PH Sport, with which he scored a second podium result on the Dakar (3rd). Then in 2021, he was attracted by the ambitious project of the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team, which relies on the ProDrive structure that has won several WRC titles. But last year, Loeb got the most out of the Hunter, even managing to enter the chase behind Nasser Al Attiyah, whose ultimate rival he was until the finish, once again on the podium (2nd). After the Dakar, the duel continued throughout the W2RC season, with a much closer contest, as he led the general classification by one point after the Abu Dhabi round. In the end, the 'zero' score on the Rallye du Maroc after two technical problems (12 points scored on the legs) deprived him of a final battle for the title. But Loeb and co-driver Fabian Lurquin still won the Andalucia Rally and thus are on a winning streak. When they start the Dakar, not only will they have to battle the Qatari world champion but also resist the rise of the Audis, which already showed promise last year in the hands of Stéphane Peterhansel, Carlos Sainz and Mathias Ekström. The Dakar victory is the one title that is missing from Loeb's record.

S.L.: “On the Dakar, like for the rest of the season, we were in the running. In terms of pure performance, we rivalled Nasser Al Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel. That's a good thing. To beat them, you have to have a perfect race. They make very few mistakes. They can sense the problem areas. I can be faster than him on certain surfaces but not everywhere. His ability to read the terrain on the vast undulating plateaus and dunes when visibility is lacking is the driving quality, I would like to borrow from him. It's his experience of the desert that gives him that.
We also had some reliability issues, but they have begun to be sorted out, with the experience of the season. It shouldn't happen again in the Dakar. We are prepared better than last year, as Fabian and I have improved our collaboration in the car. Everything is heading in the right direction. We know that the Audis will be very strong as well, but in any case, we have prepared ourselves well. To drive consistently is crucial as we are quite a young team in the discipline.
I have finished on the podium three times. And I've always won stages, but I have never won overall. We have to avoid all the problems and mistakes that can happen, and on top of that, this year's Dakar will be demanding. It is my main objective. I have been fighting at the front for several years”.