{"id":738766,"date":"2021-03-03T03:17:19","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T03:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/?post_type=issue_content&p=738766"},"modified":"2021-03-03T03:19:02","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T03:19:02","slug":"sebastien-loeb-on-the-2021-dakar-lost-in-arabia","status":"publish","type":"issue_content","link":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/archive\/article\/april-2021\/106\/sebastien-loeb-on-the-2021-dakar-lost-in-arabia\/","title":{"rendered":"S\u00e9bastien Loeb on the 2021 Dakar: Lost in Arabia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The S\u00e9bastien Loeb you see now \u2013 weather-beaten and suntanned after his adventures in the Saudi desert on the latest Dakar \u2013 is a very different animal to the fresh-faced youngster who burst onto the world rally scene more than 20 years ago, nearly winning his first rally with a factory World Rally Car.<\/p>\n

These days, he looks more like a seasoned explorer than an aspiring member of a boy band. It\u2019s easy to understand why: now aged 47, he\u2019s won everything there is to win \u2013 nine World Rally titles and 79 WRC victories, for the record \u2013 and travelled the world in pursuit of his art. Through mud, mountains, snow, ice, asphalt and desert: in temperatures that have ranged from lower than \u201320deg C on Rally Sweden to more than 40deg C in the heat of the Arabian desert.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s lived, laughed, loved, given it everything. So now, as he puts it himself: \u201cI\u2019m driving mainly for pleasure.\u201d Mainly, because he\u2019s still serious about winning, especially when it comes to Dakar, which so far has slipped through his fingers in the same way that Le Mans did, with a best result of second.<\/p>\n

\"Sebastien<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s desert odyssey also marked his second consecutive retirement \u2013 but there are reasons to be cheerful, despite starting from the ground up with the brand new Prodrive BRX Hunter project. It was built specifically for the FIA\u2019s new cross-country regulations, but before even seeing a sand dune in anger, it was clear that this year\u2019s Dakar would be an uphill struggle.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started testing only three weeks before the start \u2013 Covid didn\u2019t help \u2013 so everything was brand new,\u201d points out Loeb. \u201cThis year\u2019s route also didn\u2019t play to my strengths or the strengths of the car, although in the end it was just a suspension triangle that broke. That\u2019s okay: I\u2019m sure it will be analysed and fixed and won\u2019t break again next year. The concept of the car is good. It\u2019s really enjoyable to drive and rolls a lot less than the Peugeot I had before. It feels more pointy, more like a World Rally Car. There\u2019s a lot of potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n \"BRX\n
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Perhaps it should be little surprise that S\u00e9bastien Loeb\u2019s Dakar Rally was wrecked by broken suspension<\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

Even so, he endured a torrid rally. He rowed with officials after being slapped with a five-minute penalty for speeding; his support truck broke down; and new navigation notes left him and experienced co-driver Daniel Elena baffled.<\/p>\n

The coup de gr\u00e2ce came in suitably farcical circumstances. \u201cIn a double jump on a landing, we broke a [suspension] wishbone and then we lost 10 hours in the desert.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unable to continue as night fell, Loeb and Elena waited patiently for the recovery truck carrying the spare parts needed to continue the race. Just as they thought their saviour had arrived, things suddenly got even worse. The truck had brought the incorrect component due to some lax labelling. It was a case of right label \u2013 wrong part.<\/p>\n

\u201cSurprise!\u201d says Loeb. \u201cSo at this point, we lost completely the race.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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\n \"Sebastian\n
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The stone tracks of stage one gave way to a sandy plateau for stage two between Bisha and Wadi Al Dawasir on January 4<\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure> <\/div>\n

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\n \"Sebastien\n
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All smiles (of sorts) at the Dakar Rally shakedown with their Prodrive-run Bahrain Raid Xtreme BRX1 on New Year\u2019s Eve <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure> <\/div>\n

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\n \"Mini\n
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Carlos Sainz in the Mini JCW buggy, left, takes a breather with Loeb. <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

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Loeb and his co-driver were forced to amuse themselves and take refuge with a following camera crew. But today, the Frenchman is relaxed: his time on the Dakar will come. For the first time in decades, Loeb doesn\u2019t have a factory contract \u2013 having terminated his WRC agreement with Hyundai last year \u2013 and he\u2019s totally free to make his own decisions.<\/p>\n

Take a peek inside his garage and you\u2019ll find a Porsche 911 Turbo S, an Audi RS6 and a McLaren 675LT: all cars he\u2019s chosen because he likes them.
\nHe no longer has to drive a Citro\u00ebn, Peugeot, Hyundai or promote a particular brand of oil for PR purposes. He can just be himself.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s something that Seb does incredibly well, a task made easier by the passing of the years and accumulation of unprecedented success. There\u2019s nothing more to prove or say; absolutely no need to toe any clean-living, politically correct lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the future, I think I\u2019m done with the World Rally Championship\u201d<\/blockquote>\n

All this, plus Covid putting the world on hold, has brought Loeb to a crossroads in his life and career: he\u2019s recently moved house as well. There\u2019s a genuine sense now of a new chapter about to open.<\/p>\n

Like all of us, he\u2019s had plenty of time to think about what to do next, sitting at home in Switzerland as travel restrictions kicked in. After so many years of moving around, he found the experience odd but beneficial: the chance to spend more time with his daughter Valentine was amazing and he was also able to get stuck into his new house project.<\/p>\n

There was clearly some degree of boredom too, as the Instagram video he shared, showing his impressively dextrous negotiation of an indoor mountain bike obstacle course, demonstrated. Who hasn\u2019t dreamed of doing that one day?<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me the lockdown was okay,\u201d he points out. \u201cI didn\u2019t mind it too much, although I definitely missed the competition. But I feel really sorry for the younger drivers who have just started their motor sport careers or are in the middle of them. For them it must be so frustrating not being able to progress their careers and show what they can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Se\u0301bastien Loeb (@sebloebofficiel)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n