Sébastien Loeb’s return to FIA World Rallycross Championship competition behind the wheel of Special ONE Racing’s Lancia Delta Evo-e RX was one of the standout stories of the pre-season period – and while that story was cruelly cut short by the events of Lydden Hill, perhaps there may yet be further chapters to be written.
Right from the outset in 2023, Loeb rolled back the years, indulging in a crowd-pleasing battle with Niclas Grönholm – son of his former FIA World Rally Championship nemesis Marcus Grönholm – in the Portuguese curtain-raiser before winning his race in heat two with a vintage performance that yielded the third-fastest time overall.
The Frenchman was on fine form again two weeks later in Norway, excelling with the third-best run in the single-lap SuperPole shootout as he hustled his Lancia around the undulating Lånkebanen circuit with characteristic brio. Never outside the top six throughout the heats, he secured a strong fifth spot in the ranking and then replicated that result in the final.
Loeb lapped fifth-quickest in SuperPole in Sweden, where he tallied his third heat race win in as many rounds, only to miss out on the final for the first time since his comeback. There was assuredly much more to come. Hopefully there still is...
2023
Stats
World
RX Starts:
3
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Finals
Reached:
2
Best
Result: 5th
Points: 29
Championship
Position:
9th
Finland
Italy
Hungary