The most titled rally driver Sebastien Loeb

Sebastien Loeb is the most famous French rallist, who became nine times world champion and has a huge number of points and awards for the WRC. About this leader, "the king of the roads," we will discuss in more detail in this publication.

Brief information from the life of the rider

This charming rally driver was born in late February 1974 in Agno, Alsace (France). From childhood, he was fond of gymnastics, mechanics and electronics. Later, his passion developed into professional activity: Loeb became a qualified autoelectrician. Later he was attracted to beautiful sports cars and racing, which later led him to the rally.

Training and the first steps in career rallista

As it turned out later, Sebastien Loeb decided to reinforce his enthusiasm for motor racing with his knowledge. For this, his parents gave him to study in the professional rally school "Citroen", which he graduated with honors. This step was very important for the future record holder.

The next stage was the young man's first performance in 1998 in the international arena. Being true to tradition, as the first car, Sebastian decided to choose Citroën Saxo.

His mentor at the same time was already well-known at the time racing driver and rally navigator - Guy "Grizzly" Freklen. To the surprise of the young man, his first race showed excellent results, which allowed him to move further along the career ladder. That's how the sport began in Sebastien Loeb. Biography, although it does not disclose the details of the childhood and youth of the athlete, but in details describes the beginning and the current state of affairs in a career.

Participation in races and accompanying successes

In early 1999, Sebastian was again invited to the annual rally, where he took part in three stages of the WRC. This time the promising sportsman was more than ever close to victory and world recognition. And exactly three years later he finally managed to win the first World Rally Championship among juniors. From that moment on the rally driver was seriously spoken of as a future record holder.

By the 2002 rally, Sebastien Loeb (photo can be seen below) decided to prepare for 100%. To do this, he trained a lot, and also developed his own travel strategy. As a result, his efforts were not in vain, since at the first race in Monte Carlo he managed to take the second place. At the end of the season, the athlete became the tenth in the overall standings.

The first loss and sense of competition

In 2003, Sebastian faced one of the most serious rivals - the Norwegian racing driver Peter Solberg, who lost, however, at the last stage of the second season. Despite the defeat, the rider managed to become the first on the Australian rally, to light up in Germany, Monte Carlo, Sanremo and the roads of Cyprus, Catalonia and Great Britain.

Seasons in the period from 2004 to 2006

2004 was for Sebastian decisive and victorious. During the next annual rally, he managed to become a world champion. Exactly a year later, Sebastien Loeb again won and reinforced his champion title with another world award. 2006, on the contrary, did not become successful for the guy, but brought new awards.

So, in the new season, the athlete received a kind of reward associated with his personal record. The fact is that during participation in the World Championship he never took a place below the second. For example, during the rally in Sweden and Monte Carlo the young rider failed to get around Finn Marcus Gronholm, and he took the second place of honor. However, participation in other series of the championship by chance made him a leader.

Then there were the rallies of Acropolis and Finland, and again the second place, the victory on the track in Germany, the unconditional win in Japan and Cyprus. Perhaps, such a "swing" would continue and longer, if Sebastien Loeb was not injured.

This incident occurred in the Alps, where the record holder went to ride a mountain bike. Due to negligence, he fell down unsuccessfully and broke his arm. As a result, the four final stages of the World Championship passed without him.

Seasons in the period from 2007 to 2010

The next three years in a row, starting in 2007, Loeb again becomes world champion in the rally. And in 2009, the victory was given to him with great efforts, as his rival was the irrepressible Finn Mikko Hirvonen. It is interesting that everything decided to count the points. According to the judging panel, Sebastian outstripped his opponent just one point.

In 2010, at the WRS Rally, Sebastien Loeb won an undeniable victory and became the champion ahead of schedule. According to him, to achieve such results he was helped by the positive aura of his native Agno, as well as the support of relatives and friends.

The first rumors about the end of his career

Despite a number of victories in the sport, Sebastian became increasingly serious about stopping his career. For the first time about this he started talking in September 2010. At that time fans and fans of the athlete took it as a joke. However, his intention was confirmed by the rally driver in early 2011. A little later, he will be able to implement the plan and seriously take up the device of family life.

Immediately after the rumors that Sebastien Loeb is leaving the rally, Citroën's representatives stirred. According to them, there is no question of leaving the sportsman, since their contract with him was extended not so long ago. Sebastian himself will talk about leaving a little later, but we'll talk about it below.

This unsuccessful 2011

Next, 2011 started for the athlete completely unsuccessfully. During the first stage of the next World Championship he failed to take first place. On the contrary, unexpectedly for himself and others, he slipped to sixth place. However, in time to gather strength, Sebastian still finished, but the second. According to him, to occupy the first place he was prevented by penalty minutes, which he shook on his own stupidity and almost at the finish.

During the next races Loeb won only prize places. He even managed to score 171 points in the individual competition. However, during the rally, which started in August of the same year, the team Sebastian first took second place.

The cause of the loss was the fault of the wheel, which arose, again, before the victory itself. It is interesting that at the penultimate stage the rider's team was waiting for a pleasant surprise in the form of a reward for another record. As it turned out, the crew of Leba for the first time in the history of the WRC ranked first in the number of special stages that he won. "And they had to go through neither more nor less, but as many as 803," says Sebastian.

Report on partial departure from the rally

The year 2012 for Loeb was more successful, since he started with another victory at the race track in Monte Carlo. In the same period, the racing driver decided to finally put all the points over the "i" concerning his departure. On his decision, he told reporters during a big press conference that took place immediately after the international motor show in Paris.

The report dealt with the partial suspension of its activities. He also said that he intends to continue taking part in the competitions, but only in individual races (and this is approximately 2-3 stages).

In addition, the main pilot and co-driver of Citroën spoke about further participation in the racing series of the World Touring Car Championship. He also shared the details of the new game simulator, created specifically for fans of racing and the creativity of the athlete. In this case, he meant "Sebastian Loeb Rally Evo", developed by the Italian company Miltstone.

The personal life of an athlete

After a gradual withdrawal from the sport, his family came first in Leba's life. At the moment, the Citroën pilot is married to his compatriot and brings up his daughter Valentina.