If there were only one number to remember, it would be 29. The number of his World Rally Championship wins. It’s impressive considering that what could have taken many years, or even an entire career, the Alsatian achieved in just four full seasons. Since his first WRC outing at the 2002 Rally Germany, Seb has racked up 69 races. With the recent exception of Monte-Carlo, he has competed in all of them in a Citroën Xsara.
What is most remarkable about him is the precocity of his results. His progression was steady and constant during his first full season in 2003. The driver had to put in tremendous work to get there. His focus, the dedication he brings to test sessions, and his personal commitment have all been praised by his team bosses.
However, the beginning of 2006 was uncertain. The Frenchman left the official Citroën team for the first time to discover the private Belgian Kronos team, still driving a Xsara. He also had to face tougher competition than ever. The Ford team, following a disappointing 2005 season, managed to recruit Marcus Gronholm during the off-season. With a new ride, the Focus RS, the Finn was Loeb’s only real rival throughout the sixteen rounds of the championship. Up to the fourteenth event in Australia, the giant Marcus had the Frenchman shaking. The latter, confined to his living room chair for the last four races, was practically watching his world championship victory live. Despite missing four races due to a right clavicle fracture, Seb could savor his third world crown.
It’s a real feat. He is one of four drivers to have retained their world championship title year after year. Previously, only Tommi Makinen (between 96 and 99), Massimo Biasion (in 88 and 89), and Juha Kankkunen (86-87) had managed to do so. In 2006, the Alsatian racked up another impressive string of victories. Out of twelve rallies, Sébastien Loeb finished second four times and clinched eight victories, on every kind of surface. From ice patches on the “Montecarlo” (but not this year!) to the battered tracks of the Acropolis, and through the ultra-fast roads of the Thousand Lakes Rally, he can do it all.
Another feat of the Citroën driver, the 2005 Tour de Corse. The current triple world champion started with a knife between his teeth. He knew that if he won, he could be crowned in France. Faster than ever, Seb attacked very hard, pushing his car to its limits. He took the lead at the start of the rally and never looked back until the final podium. Along the way, he scored the best times in all the stages. Incredibly, in all the stages! No driver, since the creation of the world championship in 1979, had managed such a performance.
The Frenchman is a voracious ogre. He chains victories with what some might call ease, but which in reality is due to great rigor. As long as his car is running, he never gives up. The consistency of his times and his exceptional reliability have set new benchmarks. His talent is recognized by the greatest, and his competitors salute the performances he is capable of. Marcus Gronholm recently declared that he was the biggest rival he had ever had in his career. A beautiful tribute from the double world champion of 2000 and 2002.
It must be recognized that, in addition to having a great handle on the wheel, Sébastien has flair. On the eve of being crowned at the Rally Great Britain (the RAC), the Citroën driver preferred to withdraw from the competition following the death during the race of Marko Martin’s co-driver, the Briton Michael Park. It was a significant decision; he could have subsequently lost the championship. The important thing was elsewhere. Seb did not want to win a second world crown in such a tragic way. A gesture of a great champion that honors him.
Starting with a victory, the 2007 season could allow him a quadruple that would place him in the pantheon of rally drivers. He would join the Finn Tommi Makinen, the only one to have achieved this between 1996 and 1999. The next rounds will largely lift the veils that still remain on the C4. We know it’s fast and apparently reliable, but how will it perform on rough tracks or under high temperatures? The future will tell us. No doubt that Sébastien will continue to improve his records and finally reach those that still elude him.
