Sébastien Loeb: “We had to fight hard to be in front! »

Sébastien Loeb made a wish that he had been pursuing for some time come true: to line up at the start of an event at the wheel of the Peugeot 306 Max. Now an official driver of the Lion brand, the nine-time world rally champion has taken advantage of the roads of Rally from Haute Provence to evolve in the famous Kit-Car which shone in the 90s with Gilles Panizzi and François Delecour.

At this meeting where he was co-driven by his wife Séverine, the Alsatian won at the finish, but admits to not having had an easy time.

“The objective of this weekend was above all to have fun, and we can say that it was successful, recalls Loeb. The special stages looked like what you would find on a Monte-Carlo or a Var, with a good level of grip, on bumpy, fast and slightly wide roads. This is typically the kind of profile where it's fun to drive a kit car.

It was all the more fun as Eric Fanguiaire, the regional rider for the stage, gave us some great opposition with his Ford Fiesta WRC. We had to push ourselves hard to be in front! It was in the sixth Esparron special that we managed to make the difference: it was technical, with very fast downhill sections and I think I rode really well. »

Accustomed to four-wheel drive since the Xsara WRC, Sébastien Loeb returned to driving a two-wheel drive, after having carried out some preparation runs. “Originally, I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of the car's performance level. In the end, it's really healthy to ride, and goes really well in the fast!

You obviously have to hit it, and open the trajectories to find traction, but it is in no way vicious. I gradually managed to be more refined in my driving, to saturate the front end less.

It's also that with my team, we refined the settings to eliminate the understeer from which we suffered a little at the start of the rally. Suffice it to say that I am particularly happy with my new acquisition and I am already impatient to get back behind the wheel. »

Find the report of the Rallye de Haute-Provence in issue 2106 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.