Nine-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb will make his return to the Dakar Rally with Prodrive project Bahrain Raid Xtreme as he continues to chase an elusive first win in the prestigious rally-raid.
Loeb, whose accolades outside of his status as a WRC legend include wins in World Rallycross, the World Touring Car Championship and FIA GT, tackled four successive editions of the Dakar between 2016 and 2019.
A regular stage winner and frontrunner in the event during that time, Loeb had two promising runs derailed by accidents but finished a narrow runner-up to works Peugeot team-mate Stephane Peterhansel in 2017 and then a close third in 2019 in a privateer PH Sport-run Peugeot, once the French manufacturer had suspended its factory programme.
Since that Dakar outing, Loeb has competed on a part-time WRC schedule with Hyundai, which has yielded two podiums. There are no further Hyundai outings planned for Loeb for the moment, and it has released a farewell statement for Loeb, albeit quoting the Frenchman as saying that “neither Hyundai Motorsport nor I want to completely close the book for good”.
Loeb will be part of a two-car assault for BRX, a team founded by UK motorsport giant Prodrive, which will enter a pair of all-new four-wheel-drive rally-raid challengers. The other car will be driven by Nani Roma, a Dakar winner on two and four wheels.
“BRX have got big ambitions for the 2021 Dakar Rally and I’m excited to be a part of the journey with the team,” Loeb said.
“There is an immense amount of experience in each area of the team; the best in the field with Prodrive, a track record of success from David Richards, and Bahrain’s rich history in motorsport. This combination is hard to rival, and I’m confident we will take to the dunes as strong contenders in next year’s Dakar.”
Though Prodrive’s announcement doesn’t officially confirm it, Hyundai’s statement indicates that Loeb will be again partnered by co-driver Daniel Elena at BRX, after Elena accompanied him for nine WRC titles and four Dakar outings.
The 2021 edition of the Dakar Rally will take place from January 3 to January 15, and the marathon will be run entirely in Saudi Arabia for a second year in a row.
THE RACE SAYS
Hallelujah. After a couple of years of relative wheel-spinning in the WRC – a series in which Loeb has done all there is to do and is never likely to attempt, much less succeed, at getting his title count into double digits – the legendary Frenchman is back in a category where he can bolster his already-absurd CV.
Don’t take that as us saying Loeb has anything left to prove, mind. He could easily call it a career without a Dakar win and still be one of the most successful and cherished motorsport competitors ever.
Yet, it’s that weird unscratchable itch for observers like me – it’s not just that a Dakar triumph would look good alongside Loeb’s WRC titles, but also that he has absolutely already earned one, and his potential as a rally-raid star is clear to see.
As a pair of rally-raid novices, Loeb and co-driver Elena were fantastic for the Dakar between 2016 and 2019. There were accidents and mistakes, yes, but Loeb was bloody quick, and luck didn’t favour him – he absolutely had the pace to bring the trophy home on at least one occasion.
That he hasn’t given up on it is fantastic news for everyone involved. Yes, he has no prior experience of a Saudi Arabia-based dune-led Dakar; yes, his main rivals in Carlos Sainz Sr, Stephane Peterhansel and Nasser Al-Attiyah are poised to return; and yes, new cars don’t generally tend to win – or do all that well – at Dakar the first time out.
But if he doesn’t get it done in 2021, it should at least provide a strong platform for future success – and with Loeb, you really can’t rule anything out.
