Loeb: “A hell of a relief”

Sébastien Loeb, world rally champion for the sixth consecutive season, can celebrate his title. Two stages from the finish, when he had just lost precious seconds, the Frenchman was not assured of his victory on the roads of Wales and easily admits this. “ It was hard until the end, confirms the Frenchman. There was a lot of pressure until the finish. »

If he led the Rally of Great Britain from start to finish, Sébastien Loeb was never able to relax his efforts, due to the combativeness of Mikko Hirvonen. “ It was a very intense weekend, packed all the time? A big fight with Hirvonen. He didn't give up. We had to fight until the end. »

From then on, the Frenchman, who won the first five rallies of the season before winning the last two, takes stock of a season which delivered his verdict at the last moment. “ There were ups and downs: a great start to the season then some struggles. We managed to get back into contention for the start of the last race, in order to play for the title. Finally, we won it down to the wire, with a special stage remaining. »

This title, far from being assured a few kilometers from the finish, therefore has a very particular flavor. “ It?s one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, at least sportingly. Hirvonen was very reliable, he made no mistakes, he went very fast. We had to fight until the end. And when the title is at stake with three races to go, we say to ourselves that we can always win it in the next race. But there, we knew it was the last chance. The pressure was not at all the same. »

If Sébastien Loeb dominated most of the weekend's stages, the Frenchman always questioned himself, having to attack constantly. “ We didn't think we had won before the last special », Confirms the Citroën driver.

If, sportingly, Sébastien Loeb had to beat Mikko Hirvonen to win his title, the difficulty of the weekend was knowing how to resist the pressure. Something that Mikko Hirvonen and Sébastien Loeb were able to do, but the Frenchman confirms that the task was difficult. “ Today, mentally, it was not easy. You had to hold on under pressure. I knew it yesterday, thirty seconds is good, but nothing was done. We were surprised in the second special. By ensuring a little too much, we find ourselves at 18 seconds. We then had to start again. Then he had his problem but it was intense. »

Finally, Sébastien Loeb was able to glimpse the title with more serenity in the penultimate special of the day, when Mikko Hirvonen, plagued by hood problems, had to stop, losing a minute. But, until then, the Citroën driver had had to offer very aggressive driving to keep his advantage. “ Take the risks that we had to take today in the penultimate special, knowing that everyone is waiting for us to win, while I, in the car, know that it is not done, and that the conditions are terrible with downpours? Well, when it ends and we finally win, it's a big relief. »