First victory in the WRC since the 2018 Rally of Catalonia, eighth affirmation in the Monte Carlo Rally – like Sebastien Ogier in the roll of honor of this test – and his eightieth career victory: all at the age of almost 48. These are all data that enhance the incredible performance of Sebastien Loeb in the 90th edition of the Rally del Principato, won precisely by the Alsatian at the end of a fight with his greatest rival with no holds barred, really until the end. Ogier, in fact, he was at the top of the general classification until the penultimate heat, during which his Toyota suffered a drilling later proved fatal for the chances of victory. Not surprisingly, Loeb took the opportunity to recover all the 20-second disadvantage with his Ford Puma, leaping to the top of the ranking by generating a gap of 9 seconds between himself and his compatriot. Finally, in the power stage, Ogier in turn canceled the distances, only to suffer the final blow of a penalty, inflicted due to a jump start. At that point, Loeb thus became the new King of Monte Carlo, clinching the first victory of the WRC hybrid era.
Interviewed by L’Equipe immediately after the final test, the Frenchman commented on his historic success as follows: “It’s incredible – he has declared – It’s been so long since I last won. I was hoping I could do well, but I didn’t think I could even win. Then there was Sebastien’s puncture, who had been very strong all weekend. I have no idea what will happen next, we’ll see. In any case, it was a great rally and I had a lot of fun. To be a return, it was all extraordinary “. In addition, the transalpine also posted a tweet on his official profile, underlining his triumph with these words: “I don’t know if I’ve ever dreamed of being able to take that famous 80th victory, but we did it, all together. Thank you all”.
Je ne sais pas si j’ai déjà rêvé un jour de pouvoir remporter cette fameuse 80e victoire … et nous avons fait, tous ensemble 🤩
Merci à tous! #WRC #RallyeMonteCarlo #MSPORTERS #fordperformance #redbull #SFR #richardmille #vulcanet #spark pic.twitter.com/Ng4dRRA9MZ
– Sébastien Loeb (@SebastienLoeb) January 23, 2022
#WRC #Rally #Monte #Carlo #Loeb #didnt #win #FormulaPassionit