His biggest supporters have been waiting for this for over a year and a half. A year and a half of a sudden lack, of an absent presence, of a void to fill. Since that Rally d'Alsace 2013, which was supposed to mark the jubilee of the greatest rally driver in history and which ultimately ended in a mess and on the roof, Sébastien Loeb had left the WRC orphaned of his greatest champion. It is almost as a hero, therefore, that the nine-time world champion makes his return to the paddock, this month of January 2015, at the Gap service park. The Alsatian has chosen the legendary Rallye Monte-Carlo to compete in his first stint as a newly retired driver, in front of a crowd delighted to see again the one he made him dream of for years.
More than 500 days after his last appearance in the WRC, Sébastien Loeb is making his comeback, logically with Citroën and its white and gold DS3. A car that he knows like the back of his hand having won the title with it three years previously. Before the start, the Alsatian does not aim to fight for victory, but simply to have fun.
"When I say I'm going to compete in the 2015 Monte Carlo, I'm not saying: 'I'm going to win it', tells us the one who then has seven victories in the Monte-Carl'. I am pleased to be back with my French – and foreign – supporters in my country. I will do my best, as usual. I will prepare myself, but my priority for 2015 is not the World Rally Championship. This is the WTCC. Monte Carlo is for fun. I will be happy if I can fight at the front, but it is not an absolute priority. If some people think that I have to win and that it is taking risks to expose myself to that, I leave them to their reasoning. I am not made that way. If I do not win the 2015 Monte Carlo, it will not change the life that awaits me, behind, and it will not change the number of my victories, my past successes in Monaco and my world titles in WRC.
A crazy first special
Still supported by his long-time sidekick, Daniel Elena, Sébastien Loeb therefore sets off without any real objective of a result... and yet, from the first special, between Entrevaux and Rouaine, he overpowers all his opponents and takes the scratch with a 22-second lead over his closest pursuer, Ott Tänak ! "It's encouraging, but we shouldn't give it any importance, puts the Tricolor into perspective. Here, the evolution of the times over the passages gives an idea of what awaits us during four days. (…) It does not obsess me. I am here to please myself and to offer some to the spectators. I try to analyze how the race could unfold, but I have no stake. I am not back. (…) I am happy to find the sensations specific to the rally, the sliding, the spontaneity in the driving, the feeling. I have not set myself any objective in terms of results. I do not focus on Ogier, he will be an opponent like any other. Let me simply enjoy this very special atmosphere, which you only find in rallying."
How is this 10 years ago 🤯#WRC | #RallyMonteCarlo ???????? pic.twitter.com/VmQRracslB
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) January 18, 2025
And yet, the Alsatian continues to handle the steering wheel and the pedals like a maestro on the roads alpines icy. On Friday evening, before the start of the last special of the day, Sébastien Loeb was in 2nd place, just eight seconds behind Sébastien Ogier, with three scratch times under his belt. Unfortunately, on SS8, a few kilometres before returning to the service park, he made a small mistake with serious consequences. With non-studded tyres, not really suited to icy and snowy sections, he hit a bank and broke the rear-left suspension of his Citroën DS3.
“With my non-studded tires, I was walking on a wire, he says after his accident. In a long bend, I probably accelerated a bit too early on a particularly slippery section. The trajectory widened. The gap was minimal, but the snow on the outside masked an obstacle, which the rear wheel hit head-on. A connecting rod broke. It was over. Forced to retire at the end of the day, he lost around ten minutes and his hopes of an eighth victory in Monte-Carlo.
Loeb still impressive
However, the "luxury freelancer" was not put off by this error. Despite the disappointment of no longer being in the running for victory, Sébastien Loeb set off again the next day in SuperRally, still with the desire to have fun as a priority. Also to show that at 41 years old, the Alsatian has not lost his driving skills! Until the end of the rally, the DS3 competed with the best and the nine-time world champion scored two additional scratch times to bring his total to five, making him the best performer of the 2015 Monte-Carlo Rally. In particular, he set the best time on SS14 on the snowy roads of the Col de Turini.
Final result: 8th place in the general classification, but the main thing is elsewhere for Sébastien Loeb. He who is now engaged in WTCC – still with Citroën – has rediscovered unique sensations and the seriousness that we know him for was always accompanied by a slight smile at the end of the special stages. A first gig that calls for others? “What are you talking about? Monte Carlo 2016?” I don't know. A year ago, I didn't know I was going to be here today. From now on, I'm going to focus on my WTCC season. I have a championship to compete in. As for the rest, I'm not rejecting anything. One thing is for sure: there are no plans. There's no point asking myself the question ten thousand times, since it's never been mentioned." The future will show us that this first stint was not the last, since Sébastien Loeb then took part in 15 other rallies with Citroën, Hyundai et M-Sport Ford and won two new rallies, including an eighth Monte-Carlo in 2022.
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