This is how Sébastien Loeb returned to the WRX

One of the first majors Sebastien Loeb He tried after leaving his usual participation in the World Rally Championship was Rallycross. Fortunately, this experimental phase of his coincided with the birth of the mainstream FIA World RallycrossHe will end up representing Peugeot between 2016 and 2018.

In that three-year period, at the controls of the 208 WRX, Loeb contested a total of 36 races with 2 wins and 15 podiums. A record he now hopes to expand in collaboration with another great aviator, friend and compatriot like dakarian’ Guerlain Chicherit.

They’re both a pilot and a diamond mater. One special racea sports project that participates in the 2023 WRX with its own prototype, called Delta Evo E It is, as its name suggests, an electric car with a body that mimics that of the Lancia Delta Integrale.

The championship started on the first weekend of June at the Montalegre (Portugal) circuit, where Loeb managed to make it into the final session but only managed to finish sixth.

A young project with an old flavor

Always debuting in such a high level competition with a newly created car Big challengewhere the vast experience of two veterans such as Loeb and Chichret can be seen against the ropes.

And it is that, according to the team itself in a statement, the problems started as soon as they got to the paddock when they received them. Five-point penalty from the FIA Due to the fact that, at some point in the pre-season, they had used a Delta Evo-e in “demo” mode, which is prohibited by regulations unless expressly authorized.

Added to this is the complexity created by the new technical regulations for the 2023 WRX. This, which obliges all competitors in the RX1e class to use electric vehicles with a common mechanical philosophy, proves it. The electronic management of the two engines must be unifiedwith the consequent headache for the team’s engineers.

ONE SPECIAL RACES

But in the end, the hand-training game somehow prevailed, and Loeb finished third in heat two. with grip problems throughout the day, The French champion went all out in the semi-final and moved up two places to qualify for the final race. However, an unfortunate hole would leave it in Citta Square.

for his part, Chicheret held onto the third place in his semi-final, until it was snatched by Ole Christian Vibe and his Volkswagen.And leaving him at the gates of facing the best and with the eighth place in the final classification of the Portuguese event.

ONE SPECIAL RACES

the The second round of the WRX will take place in Hell (Norway). The French veterans, irreducible to discouragement, are sure to come to this northern stage with a view to reclaiming what misfortune has robbed them. We’ll see how they get it.