Dakar, Audi scares Loeb: “Uncatchable if he doesn't have technical problems”

Will it be the right time for the rally legend?

After two consecutive second places in the last two years Sebastien Loeb starts the assault on the 46th edition of the Dakar – the fifth in a row organized in Saudi Arabia – with the aim of finally achieving victory. The French rally legend (nine world titles won at the wheel of Citroen from 2004 to 2012) will have as his teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah, fresh from two consecutive victories in the last two years.

The Qatari is looking for a third consecutive victory – a feat achieved in the Dakar in the Car category only by Ari Vatanen and Pierre Lartigue – and underlined that Loeb is one of the most dangerous opponents given that in his opinion the Audi squadron will not last long in terms of the standings general in light of the technical problems encountered in the tests in Aragon and Morocco. Loeb, however, underlined that the speed of the hybrid buggies from the Quattro Cerchi company will be difficult to stem if there are no reliability problems for Audi: “In Morocco Audi had several mechanical problems – the words of Loeb interviewed by the French newspaper The Team – but if one of Sainz, Peterhansel and Ekstrom doesn't have any problems, he will be a very difficult customer for the final victory because in some stages the Audis will be uncatchable“. The list of candidates for final victory according to Loeb is quite long: “Al-Rahji is always constant and I wouldn't underestimate the youngsters from Toyota, Moraes and Quintero, who are two question marks.”

The fact that Al-Attiyah will have his own Prodrive Hunter at his disposal before both move to Dacia in the next three years does not change Loeb's approach: “We will have the same possibilities, the same car and as long as neither of us have problems during the raid, there will be no team strategy, so not much will change. My goal after three podiums is obviously to win, but it's always complicated to make plans because the Dakar is a long race full of pitfalls. There is no perfect Dakar without problems, without ever getting lost or getting a puncture. The slightest problem can be costly, so we have to hope that everything goes well.”