Rally Finland: Pierre-Louis Loubet at fault

Clearly, the season of Pierre-Louis Loubet and Loris Pascaud his co-driver does not meet their expectations. While they were in 7th position among the Finnish specialists, the French went off the road in the 5th qualifying, putting an end to their Nordic weekend.

Published on 02/08/2024 à 17:05

Loïc ROCCI

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Rally Finland: Pierre-Louis Loubet at fault

So far, Pierre-Louis Loubet's season in WRC2 has been quite...troublesome? (Photo: Nikos Katikis/DPPI)

The rallies follow one another and are similar for the Corsican driver. For his return to the WRC2 category, he made a qualifying fault in Portugal for his debut with the Skoda Fabia RS. Victim of a mechanical problem, he was unable to achieve good performances in Sardinia. After these two abandonments, there was no longer any need to think about the title and the Frenchman mainly wanted to perform well by lining up in Poland. Appreciating this type of very rapid test, he was a candidate for 4e rank when a puncture put him downgrade 5e at the very end of rally.

Finding special stages in Finland where he has already been competitive in the past, PLL knew that the task would not be easy with around ten Finns determined to grab a good place in front of their home crowd. After 4 stages run in difficult conditions, the Skoda No. 34 was classified 7e of WRC2 34'' from leader Oliver Solberg and only 16'' from the podium. In the well-known Ruuhimäki (SS5 – 7,76 km), Pierre-Louis Loubet made a mistake just a short distance from the finish. In the photos, the car did not seem too damaged, but the crew did not finish the special.

After this incident, the duo will not leave tomorrow. It was indeed impossible to claim even the slightest point. While the return to this category is absolutely not going as he hoped, Pierre-Louis Loubet must wonder about the rest of his program. Should he persist in WRC2? Should he go and race in other championships to obtain results and build up confidence? Should we now look towards 2025? The few weeks ahead of the Acropolis will undoubtedly allow him to take stock.

 

Loïc ROCCI

Journalist specializing in rallying past, present and future... and with a southern accent

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