Pierre-Louis Loubet: “We won’t have to get angry”

Before you set off on this 2^e test of the season, what is your experience in Sweden?

I did not dispute the rally only once. Apart from the snow, it had nothing to do with it because this meeting was based further south. I had a Citroën DS3 Rally5. We had given up due to an engine problem.

This means that you will have to discover not only the course, but also the behavior of a Rally1 on snow?

We knew before the start of the season that there would be races where everything would be new. You won't have to get upset. We saw during Monte-Carlo that we could achieve good performances. It is certain that it will be easier when we have better knowledge of the terrain.

Before Monte-Carlo, you had a day and a half of testing. How did this play out before Sweden?

We were able to do a full day during which we did not encounter any problems, which allowed us to cover around 150 km. The chosen base was located in the Umeå region where the rally will take place.

It was at the wheel of this DSR R5 that Pierre-Louis Loubet had his only experience in Sweden during the 2017 edition (DPPI Photo: Bastien Baudin)

What did your section of road look like? Was this representative of what you will find during the race?

I think it was tighter and more technical than what we expect. There were also a few quick games. The biggest difference is that it was a path on which they had not run a blade. So there was quite a bit of powder and dirt ended up appearing in some places, but it was interesting to ride there.

What were your feelings with the Rally1 in these conditions? What lessons did you learn from it?

I know there is pressure and expectations, but I still try to save myself a place for fun… and I had a blast! However, you have to be very careful, because it is very easy to get sucked into the walls of snow. Since the temperatures are a little high, they can be quite soft. In their presence, we have a little more room for error than would be possible on a dirt round for example, but we must not let ourselves get carried away. At some point, this will no longer happen! It's a story of compromise. The sensations are almost similar to those on land, but you feel that everything is slightly softer.

Were you able to take advantage of this test to review the different possible settings?

This is indeed one of the things we tried. The goal is to find a set up that makes the Puma as easy as possible to ride. It's been a busy day, but I think we've arrived at a good definition.