WRC
According to Juha Kankkunen, Sébastien Ogier has already surpassed Sébastien Loeb in WRC history.
© Nikos Katikis / DPPI
Sébastien Loeb ou Sébastien Ogier The Alsatian, or the Gap native? The question appears particularly difficult given that the two pilots of rally Although the French have had very little contact throughout their respective careers, one thing remains clear. To this day, the two greatest names in the history of WRC are French, and have allowed France to add a whopping 18 world titles to its record after that of Didier Auriol.
While many consider these two immense champions to be of equal value, Juha Kankkunen, deputy director of the team Toyota Gazoo Racing, the four-time World Rally Champion, has made its choice. For them, Sébastien Ogier has already surpassed Sébastien Loeb for a very specific reason. "It's a great honor to have him on the team and we'll have him next year as a solid pillar," he told Dirtfish. I think we now have to consider him the greatest driver in the history of the World Rally Championship. Because there's nothing comparable… Loeb won all his championships with the same manufacturer, but Seb, like me, won with three different manufacturers. So I consider him the greatest driver of all time.
Will the debate between Loeb and Ogier be over by 2026?
While neither champion themselves sees this record-breaking race as an absolute obsession, the arguments are certainly flying among fans of either Sébastien. As a reminder, the Finn Juha Kankkunen is indeed the only other driver – alongside Sébastien Ogier – to have won the World Rally Championship with three different manufacturers. Specifically, these four titles were won with Peugeot Lancia and Toyota, while Sébastien Ogier won his with Volkswagen, M-Sportand Toyota.
ALSO READ > Sébastien Loeb congratulates Sébastien Ogier after his 9th title: "He shows that he is still on top"
In Sébastien Loeb's favor, however, lies the fact that he won his nine consecutive championship titles. Besides being the first to achieve this feat, the long-time Citroën ambassador paved the way, becoming the very first driver in the history of the FIA World Rally Championship to claim nine world titles.
While it's likely impossible to determine objectively, the debate about the greatest of all time seems to have begun. Given that both are immense French champions, the outcome of this duel appears to be a foregone conclusion for fans of the sport. In 2026, however, Sébastien Ogier will attempt to repeat his feat after a partial season… perhaps aiming for a 10th title?
Mathieu Chambenoit
Responsible for the single-seater categories (F2, F3, FRECA, Eurocup-3, F4...), I enjoy discussing F1, Endurance, or MotoGP.
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Little Pimousse
01/12/2025 at 03:16 a.m.
@olivier: It's "easy" to build a big gap and dominate your teammates when they're instructed to let Loeb win. Sordo was always competitive on tarmac, but he sometimes had to let the Frenchman win, with the championship in mind... like Schumacher/Barrichello in F1. That's not my idea of sport, sorry. And Loeb always benefited from Citroën's significant resources (even when he was entered by Chronos), while Ogier won two titles with M-Sport, which isn't even a manufacturer's team! When he went to Hyundai, Loeb never won as much as I can remember... even though the car was capable, as Neuville's victories demonstrate.
olive
01/12/2025 at 01:51 a.m.
Loeb participated in fewer rallies, his win ratio was better, and the gaps he built were greater. His Citroën rivals were relegated to tens of seconds, even minutes, behind. Kanku is defending his driver, which is normal.
Tibus
01/12/2025 at 01:11 a.m.
Unlike Loeb, Ogier often knew how to battle fiercely against very high-level teammates: Mickelson and Latvalla at VW, Evans and Rovanperä at Toyota, etc.
Little Pimousse
01/12/2025 at 12:14 a.m.
Loeb might not have won nine titles if he had accepted the internal competition at Citroën. And while the competition was truly top-level at the beginning of his career, it was much less so towards the end: with the big names having left (Sainz, Grönholm), and Ogier (held back by Citroën) having had to leave the double chevron brand to have a chance, Loeb only had to battle against Hirvonen... Frankly, not at the level of Rovenpera, Tänak, or even Neuville! It was much easier to rack up titles under those circumstances!