Pierre-Louis Loubet: “Sweden is the soul of rallying”

Pierre-Louis Loubet and Nicolas Gilsoul, his co-pilot, had good reasons to smile at the end of this first stage of the rally de Sweden. If the Corsican had already had a glimpse of the sensations provided by a WRC on snow and ice during his participation in the Arctic Rally in 2021, he had never driven the Puma on this surface. He also didn't know the special stages around Umeå. His objective was therefore to accumulate kilometers and gain experience.

Good afternoon! 🥈 fastest for @PL_Loubet on SS5.

More of this please 🙏. pic.twitter.com/wfXlo7eut3

— M-Sport (@MSportLtd) February 10, 2023

After the superspecial run on Thursday evening, 106,76 km timed were on the program for Friday with 7 special stages to cover. Avoiding mistakes, the Frenchman showed progress throughout the day, but that did not prevent him from being at the back of the Rally1 pack. “ We knew it would be difficult, he explained during his return to the service park. In the WRC, as soon as you are a little behind, you find yourself excluded from the best places. It's never pleasant, but without having done a preparation rally and without having driven on snow for a long time, it's not very surprising. »

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Starting the afternoon with the desire to improve his times without taking more risks, the Frenchman achieved a convincing 2^e time before managing his efforts well again and also being slowed down by a hybrid failure in SS7. Unhappy with his superspecial on Thursday evening, he tried to add more braking and got caught up a bit, losing a few seconds.

« It's my only fault of the day, he smiled in the cold at the end of the stage. I think we can be satisfied with what we have achieved. Driving on these roads and in these conditions is the soul of the rally. There is no other round where you can have so much fun with a Rally1. I was able to be more enterprising during this 2^e loop, but it would take several participations to be able to keep up with the best. You have to know how to dare in the right place, be aware of the angle you have to take, knowing that there is not a turn where you enter on the front axle. These cars are heavier than the Rally2s, so you shouldn't hesitate to be aggressive all the time. »

Despite some hybrid issues, we could be proud of our pace this afternoon!
Looking forward to tomorrow 👌🏻

#WRC#WRCSweden #RallySweden #MSport #MSporters #FordPerformance #RedBullMotorsports #redBullFrance #GivesYouWings #AECRacing #Depann2000 #GroupPink #Jige pic.twitter.com/laIRP4BtpH

— Pierre-Louis Loubet (@PL_Loubet) February 10, 2023

Another long day awaits the Franco-Belgian crew tomorrow with 7 stages and 126,22 km timed.