Sébastien Loeb, candidate for victory with Dacia, expects “a great fight and twists and turns every day”

After five podiums on the Dakar without ever reaching the top step (three second places and two third places), the Alsatian finally hopes to find the path to recognition.

Every year he is one of the favorites for the final victory. However, Sébastien Loeb, nine-time world rally champion, has never won the Dakar, which begins Friday January 3 in Saudi Arabia. At the wheel of a brand new Dacia, with which he finished in second position in the Morocco rally, he hopes to end this series without a victory this year, in an edition that he expects to be full of twists and turns.

If I tell you that you are the favorite, do you approve?

Sébastien Loeb: Overall we can be optimistic. But it's difficult to be totally confident at the start of a rally like this because it's very long, you have to manage to put everything together. There are so many things to manage for two weeks… But for now everything is going well (smile).

Basically, your main opponent is in your team, is it Nasser Al Attiyah?

I quite agree. But that doesn't change much. This race is not an F1 Grand Prix… during the day, we are alone in the desert, without intermediate times, without information about the others. And in the end, the one with the best time wins. In terms of competition, there is everything to fear from the Mini and the Ford. During the Morocco Rally [en octobre dernier] it was really tight. We can expect a good fight.

Are you planning a Dakar with twists and turns?

I think so. Because all the cars are very efficient, with very good drivers in each team. And this year the profile of the rally is quite atypical. It became a sprint. But there we have six stages with different routes for the bikes and for us. When we follow the track, without a reference point, it's not the same… We have our eyes on the course, we try to find the right path, to find the 'way points' and those who arrive behind follow the track by attacking flat out. So, that can create big differences in the special stages. In my opinion, there can be twists and turns every day.

Is this a Dakar where you will have to manage more than ever?
Yes that's it. You'll have to race fairly carefully the first few days, not try everything from the start and then let it unfold. You will have to stay in the lead pack first and define a strategy later.