Loeb out of the Dakar race: “Difficult to accept”

While the rest of the peloton set off on the marathon stage on Wednesday, Sébastien Loeb and his navigator Fabian Lurquin did not return to the road, blocked by the decision of the commissioners after the technical inspection of their Sandrider yesterday evening. Accidented at the start of the third stage, the Dacia team duo may have reached the finish of the special, but a deformation of the roll bar was detected on their car, confirming their disqualification for the rest of the Dakar, with a single, tiny chance of restarting later thanks to a call.

Dacia's efforts were ultimately unsuccessful and Sébastien Loeb was forced to return to Jeddah in order to take a return flight to Europe. A situation which generates deep disappointment for the Frenchman, who was competing in his ninth Dakar this year and had already erased a significant loss of time the day before his accident to, according to him, stay “in the match”.

“It’s really frustrating to be going back to Jeddah instead of being in the car fighting there,” admits Sébastien Loeb in a statement sent by Dacia. “Especially when we see what happened today, because there was still a lot to play for! With 1h15 behind the leaders, nothing was yet lost. Certainly, we would have started far behind, but there were opportunities to be seized Unfortunately, that's how it is…”

On Tuesday, Loeb explained that he was surprised by a bleed, causing his Sandrider to roll sideways. He was able to repair a broken steering link thanks to the help of his teammate Cristina Guttiérez and managed to reach the finish.

“As for our barrel, frankly, I don’t really know what to say,” he admits. “It wasn't because we pushed too hard, we just got caught by a bad squeeze, it's as simple as that. There wasn't much we could have done at the time. These things happen, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating.”

“And then, the decision of the commissioners yesterday, hHonestly, it's hard to swallow.” continues Loeb. “I find this frustrating and disappointing because, from my point of view, it is not based on solid arguments. Of course, security is very important, I understand that, but the line they have drawn does not seem suitable for our discipline, knowing that we are racing in extreme conditions.”

“Our team provided evidence that the roll bar was still strong, and I have complete confidence in them. Even visually you can see that safety was not compromised. So yes, it's hard to accept .”

While Carlos Sainz also highlighted the need for more flexibility in the rules after being disqualified for the same reasons 24 hours earlier, Fabian Lurquin also supported the Alsatian's comments.

“I understand the point of view of the FIA, that there is a line drawn and that as soon as something moves on the roll bar we cannot continue. But on the other hand, we have technicians at Dacia who have certified, and I of course trust them, that there was no concern at all about our safety with this slightly twisted roll bar.” underlined the Belgian navigator.

“From my point of view, in rally raid, it's quite usual to sometimes roll over and if, every time we roll over, the car is disqualified, it's a bit difficult for the discipline. It could “So it's good to rethink where the line should be placed by the FIA ​​so that it's fair and right for everyone.”