Monte-Carlo – Loeb: “4th place is not so bad”

Sébastien Loeb failed to contain the return ofOtt Tänak to save his place on the podium of Rally Monte-Carlo, but the nine-time champion WRC nevertheless secured 4th place in the general classification by resisting pressure from Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) which he was ahead of by less than 2 seconds at the end of the 16 SS.

“It was an exciting weekend for the WRC with an incredible fight for victory and the podium, confirms the seven-time winner of the Monte-Carlo Rally. 4th place isn't so bad. I struggled at times with the car's settings, which is understandable with so little testing before the event. We made adjustments with each pass and we made good progress. »

Sébastien Loeb helped Hyundai to lead the Manufacturers' Championship, the Korean manufacturer having a 5-point lead over Citroën Racing despite the retirement of Andreas Mikkelsen.

“We have to continue like this and see what we can achieve in Sweden, adds the Alsatian. We had the necessary motivation for the next rally (in Sweden, February 14-17) by fighting for the podium from our first start with Hyundai Motorsport. This is a positive start to our new relationship. »

Sébastien Loeb will compete in a partial program while being entered in 6 rounds of the WRC.

Discover the analysis of the Monte-Carlo Rally carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2201 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.