Veteran Sébastien Loeb (M-Sport Ford) leads the Monte-Carlo rally on Friday at halfway ahead of Sébastien Ogier (Toyota), and could become the oldest winner of a championship round on Sunday, aged 47. of the world (WRC).
The youngest of its competitors were not born in 1999 when Loeb started in the premier class. The Alsatian who won his first rally in 2002 is posting a colossal pace, 9.9 seconds ahead of Sébastien Ogier, in second position.
The nine-time world champion (2004-2021) also wanted to thank his team on Twitter.
Many thanks to all the team https://t.co/yaIXhvmSpq
— Sebastien Loeb (@SebastienLoeb) January 21, 2022
Since his last title, Loeb has returned intermittently to his core discipline. Absent in 2021, after only two rallies in 2020, the one who will celebrate his 48th birthday on February 26 is back for at least this opening rally of the season, the first with hybrid engines.
With 4 scratches on 6 ES and the lead of the rally, it’s obviously a good day for us where everyone did a good job There are still 2 long stages left and the gap is not that big so no strategy possible #WRC #Monte Carlo pic.twitter.com/EFeZbjFJbh
— Sebastien Loeb (@SebastienLoeb) January 21, 2022
Only a week after finishing 2nd in the Dakar in Saudi Arabia, he is in the Principality to win, and would become the oldest driver to win a stage of the world championship.
He would add to his already exceptional record an 80th victory in 181 WRC rallies.