Sébastien Loeb: “You have to approach this rally with your head”

king of Rally Monte Carlo with seven successes in the Principality, Sébastien Loeb had made his return to the opening round of the World Rally Championship, as part of his partial program with Hyundai Motorsport in 2019.

With a 4th place finish below his usual Monegasque performances. But, to the Frenchman's disadvantage, Loeb had carried out very few tests in the i20 Coupe, and had officiated almost immediately after the Dakar in South America.

After six rallies in the world champion car, Sébastien Loeb and his teammate Daniel Elena have now gained much more experience with the Alzenau creation, which will be an asset for the nine-time world champion duo.

“We only spent one day in the car before Monte Carlo last year, so with a bit of luck and our current knowledge of the car we can achieve an even better result than last year . » says Loeb.

The former Citroën Racing driver also reminds us that the first event of the year and its usual characteristics must be approached wisely. Even the greatest have been trapped in history by a bad choice of tires (Walter Röhrl in 1985), or treacherous snow (Didier Auriol in 1994).

Loeb himself made a mistake in 2006 with the Citroën Xsara WRC – Kronos, before making a magnificent comeback and falling to second place behind Marcus Grönholm and his Ford Focus RS WRC.

“You never know what to expect at the Monte-Carlo Rally, comments Loeb. It can be completely dry, wet or with a lot of snow, which changes the riding conditions.

This can even change between stages and liaisons, meaning tire choice is even more important. You have to find the right pace to be fast without taking major risks.

You have to approach this rally with your head. It's not just about it, it's about thinking. »