new disillusionment for Sébastien Loeb, forced to abandon

Still looking for his first victory in the rally-raid, the nine-time WRC world champion had to abandon for the third time in nine participations on Tuesday.

Fate persists. For his ninth participation in the Dakar, Sébastien Loeb once again had to admit defeat. Victim of several rollovers during the 3rd stage, Tuesday January 7, the French driver was not authorized to restart at the wheel of his Dacia. “The roll bar of the Dacia Sandrider is damaged. The inspection by the FIA ​​technical stewards led to the start ban for stage 4”announced the direction of the race on its X account (formerly Twitter).

For the Alsatian, it is a new disillusionment. Since his first participation in 2016, he has often shown speed in the race (4 stage victories during this first year, 28 in total in nine editions), but has regularly been punished either by mistakes or by failures. mechanical. The year 2025 will not change this dynamic. If he had lost time but limited the damage during the “48 hours” stage between Sunday and Monday, this 3rd stage put an end to all his hopes. A disappointment that lived up to his expectations which pushed him not to “not to comment on this decision this evening. He is clearly very disappointed”said the Dacia team after its abandonment.

“I don’t like to say that because it gives the impression of letting go of everything, but it’s really a lack of success” has also assured, in the columns of The Teamson copilote Fabian Lurquin. “Our name may be Sébastien Loeb and we may be very good, but it’s such a demanding race and there are so many parameters that come into play that it’s no longer like it was twenty years ago or was perhaps easier to hit the mark, continues the Belgian. I hope we win, I’m convinced we have what it takes. But even for a Sébastien Loeb, the stars have to align.”

On the final podium during the last three editions (3rd in 2024, 2nd in 2023 and 2022), Sébastien Loeb, who finished in second place in the Morocco rally in October, will not complete the event in Saudi Saudi.