Before testing the 2022 Ford M-Sport Hybrid, Sébastien Loeb told RTBF that he would not say no to a WRC freelance.
For the first time since 2003, a WRC season will take place next year without Sébastien Ogier or Sébastien Loeb full time. The two French drivers have marked the history of rallying in the 21st century, with nine world titles in the WRC for the Alsatian and seven for the Gapençais (or even eight if he is crowned this season). In 2022, the year which will mark the beginning of the hybrid era in the world of rallying, Sébastien Ogier (who will turn 38 in December) will take part in a few rallies behind the wheel of his Toyota but will not make a full season. Sébastien Loeb (47), whose last rally dates back to Turkey in 2020, informed the RTBF that he wouldn’t be against freelancing in the WRC next year.
Loeb: “I still like to go for a rally from time to time”
“It is true that there have been discussions, but for the moment, nothing has been done. I have always liked the WRC, I always like to go to a rally from time to time, and I have done the Rallye du Mont Blanc (in Peugeot 306 Maxi, editor’s note) because it remains in this discipline that I feel the most and where I am most in my element. Freelance at one point in the WRC, why not, but today, nothing is done. I know there are rumors, from time to time they come out like that without really knowing where they are coming from, but yes, there has been some discussion. For the moment, I repeat, nothing has materialized, ”explained the nine-time world champion to the Belgian media last week. Coincidence or coincidence, he tested the Ford Puma Rally1 hybrid from the M-Sport team on Tuesday in Spain. The start of a next collaboration?