Rallying Early career Loeb initially competed as a
gymnast and became a four-time Alsatian champion, once champion of the French Grand East, and fifth in the French championship. He broke off school in 1992 but resumed taking classes in 1994, aiming at vocational training in
electrical engineering. On 1994, in parallel with his classes, he started working as an electrician at the Socalec company near
Haguenau Airport, where he was the oldest apprentice and already noted for his daring/reckless driving style. On this level, he could count on the understanding of his boss, who was himself fascinated by speed and owned a
Ferrari Testarossa 512 TR. In 1995, at age 21, Loeb quit his job and classes and definitively turned his attention to racing. In 1998, he started entering events in the French
Citroën Saxo Trophy series, winning the title in 1999.
Guy Fréquelin,
Citroën Sport's team principal, would serve as Loeb's mentor as he entered the
Junior World Rally Championship in 2001, becoming the series' first champion by winning five of the six events. The only event he didn't win this year was
Rallye Sanremo: for this event, he was elected as a driver for the WRC championship, driving a
Citroën Xsara WRC alongside
Philippe Bugalski and
Jesús Puras. In only his third rally with a
World Rally Car, he surprisingly hounded
Peugeot tarmac specialist and eventual victor
Gilles Panizzi to the finish, and ended up second.
2002–03 The
2002 season was Loeb's first as a WRC driver with the
Citroën Total World Rally Team, although the team only participated in seven rounds in the build-up to their full entry the following year. Loeb started the season by provisionally winning the
Monte Carlo Rally, after racing under appeal due to a two-minute time penalty incurred by an illegal tyre change during the second day. Citroën considered the penalty too severe but later withdrew the appeal, and
Subaru's
Tommi Mäkinen then took a record fourth consecutive Monte Carlo win. Loeb later took his maiden victory at the
Rallye Deutschland in Germany, edging out Peugeot's
Richard Burns. In
2003, his first full season in the championship, Loeb won three WRC events, Monte Carlo, Germany and Sanremo, before losing to
Petter Solberg in the
Wales Rally Great Britain, also losing the championship to him by just one point. Loeb was asked by his team not to chase Solberg at all costs so that he didn't jeopardise Citroën's lead in the constructors' championship. Loeb's reputation grew as he defeated his more illustrious teammates –
Carlos Sainz and
Colin McRae – over the course of the season.
2004 In the
2004 season, Loeb dominated the WRC scene in a similar way to
Michael Schumacher's domination of
Formula One the same year, by winning six events and taking six runner-up spots to securely give him the drivers' title, 36 points clear of second-placed Solberg. His six WRC victories tied the record for victories in one season with fellow Frenchman
Didier Auriol, who won six events in 1992. He was also responsible for Citroën's second manufacturers' title in a row. Originally known as a tarmac specialist, 2004 was the year Loeb proved himself capable of winning on other surfaces as well. He won the snow-based
Swedish Rally, becoming the first non-
Nordic to win the event. On gravel, he triumphed in the
Cyprus Rally,
Rally of Turkey and the
Rally Australia. On tarmac, he continued his success in Monte Carlo and Germany.
2005 In
2005, with victory in the ninth round in
Argentina, Loeb became the first to win six consecutive rallies, beating
Timo Salonen's record of four from 1985. Having already won the season-opening
Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo, he also became the first to win seven in a season, beating his (and Didier Auriol's) own record of six wins in a season. Loeb was in a position to clinch the title while leading the
Wales Rally Great Britain, but after it was announced that the last two stages of the rally would be abandoned due to the death of
Markko Märtin's co-driver
Michael Park in an accident on stage 15, Loeb deliberately incurred a two-minute penalty to drop him to third place and avoid retaining his title in such circumstances. He went on to secure the title by finishing second to Peugeot's
Marcus Grönholm at the next rally in Japan. Loeb eventually extended his win record to ten and won the title with a 56-point margin, breaking a 25-year-old record;
Walter Röhrl's margin over
Hannu Mikkola in 1980 was 54. Loeb set several other records during the season as well. He won all twelve stages in the
2005 Tour de Corse in France, which marked the first time a driver had won every stage of a WRC rally. Loeb's twelve podium and thirteen points-scoring finishes in a row were also new records in the series.
2006 Citroën's parent company,
PSA Peugeot Citroën, pulled both manufacturers out of the WRC at the end of 2005, but Citroën planned to return in 2007 with the
C4 WRC, and developed the car during 2006. Loeb was closely involved with this as he was guaranteed the leading role in the team at the comeback. In the meantime, a 'gap year' beckoned in the privateer ranks, namely with Citroën-sponsored
Kronos Racing entered as the
Kronos Total Citroën World Rally Team. In order to score on the first round in
Monte Carlo, Loeb was initially forced to activate the SupeRally rules for retiring competitors, having spun off the road on day one. Although he did manage to fight his way back to second place, it was the first time he had ever been beaten to the finish (namely by fellow double world champion
Marcus Grönholm) on these roads in the Xsara WRC. This outcome was mirrored on the following month's
Swedish Rally, with Grönholm again the man to whom Loeb was forced to give best, placing the duo in an early runaway 1–2 position in the points standings. But Loeb's bridesmaid status was not to last, and racking up a triumph on the ensuing
Rally Mexico – the first of five on the trot that season – propelled him into a championship lead he was never to lose. He tied
Carlos Sainz's record number of 26 individual rally victories in August with a fifth consecutive victory in Germany. With his subsequent victory in
Japan, the world record of 27 victories and counting eventually became his. His victory in
Cyprus put him on the verge of a third consecutive World Rally Championship title. Shortly after, Loeb broke his right
humerus in a mountain-biking accident near his home in Switzerland, causing him to miss the last four rallies of the season (
Turkey,
Australia,
New Zealand and
Wales). In spite of this, Loeb had accumulated such a huge point lead before Turkey that
Marcus Grönholm's failure to finish third or better in Australia handed Loeb the 2006 championship crown by one point. He received the news at home via an Internet video link to the rally HQ. Due to the time difference, he made do with early morning coffee instead of the customary champagne, calling the whole experience "strange". In 2022, on the WRC Backstories Podcast with Becs Williams, Loeb revealed that he even considered to co-drive for
Colin McRae for the rest of the season due to the injury. As co-drivers themselves scored points, Loeb could have possibly scored points for himself as a driver to try and win the title. The plan never came to fruition though as Grönholm's crash meant Loeb won the title anyway.
2007 For 2007, Loeb returned as an official
Citroën driver, with the new
Citroën C4 WRC. He won the
75ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo, the first race for the new C4, following that with a solid second place after Grönholm, in
Sweden, to set a two-point lead over the Finn after two of 16 rounds. At the
first Rally Norway, Loeb went off and lost eight minutes during SS12 while chasing Grönholm and the leader,
Mikko Hirvonen. On the next stage, he made another mistake and lost nine minutes. He eventually finished 14th in the rally and dropped to third in the championship standings. He won 8 of the 18 stages in this rally. Loeb won the next rally, the
21º Corona Rally México, 55.8 seconds clear of Grönholm. Loeb then followed this success with his third and fourth season victories on the
Portuguese and
Argentinian rallies. Characteristically, he was once more to be found in the lead on the seventh round, the Rally d'Italia in
Sardinia. On new stages on the final leg to those of the previous year, however, Loeb was once more to lament error and the surrender of probable victory, this time after crashing and breaking his car's suspension in a ditch. He left the lead in the hands of Grönholm, who won to propel himself seven points ahead of Loeb at the top of the championship standings. A second loss to the Finn in as many years on the
Acropolis Rally then extended the deficit to nine points over the championship's summer break. Loeb occupied his recess by, amongst other engagements, competing in the Shell Donegal International Rally on 15, 16 and , partially as preparation for the coming Rally Ireland World Championship round that November. He scored a comprehensive victory, albeit only after being given a scare by the pace of tenacious private Subaru-driver
Mark Higgins, who had a 45-second lead at the end of day one. Punctures afflicted upon his rival eventually settled the contest. Ambitions of finally scoring victory on Rally Finland proved once more unrealised, with Loeb relegated to third place behind the pacy natives Grönholm and Hirvonen. Rallye Deutschland, as was traditional, differed somewhat. At the scene of his first victory and on a rally where he had never subsequently lost, Loeb was left unexpectedly to fend off the challenge not of the Finn, but of a privateer, his one-time teammate and championship returnee
François Duval. He eventually triumphed and reduced some of his championship points deficit. A very close battle on the gravel stages of
Rally New Zealand ended with the
second closest win in WRC history – Loeb finished only 0.3s behind his main rival. The next two rounds allowed the French driver to regain some points, as he won both tarmac events – Rallye Espana, where his teammate Dani Sordo took second place and two points from Grönholm, and Rally France. Rally Japan was another dramatic event – Loeb got the chance to take the lead in the Championship after Grönholm's early mistake, but he was unable to, as his co-driver's mistake caused the C4 to go off the road on one of the stages of second leg. Both drivers ended with no points after finally retiring from the event. In Ireland, during
1st Rally Ireland almost the same happened – Marcus Grönholm overcooked a slippery right corner on one of the early stages, trying to keep a fast pace, and had to retire from the rally. Loeb made use of his rival's mistake and, by making no major mistakes, although having some suspension-related problems with keeping pace at the beginning, he added 10 points to his account, moving ahead of the Finnish driver just one round before the season's end. In
Wales he was not fighting for the win, focusing mostly on securing his advantage, finishing the event third – on 2007 Loeb became World Rally Champion for the fourth time in a row.
2008 at the
2008 Monte Carlo Rally Loeb started the
2008 season with a record fifth win in
Monte Carlo. On the second rally of the year,
2008 Swedish Rally, he crashed out during day one. Although he re-joined the rally to collect manufacturers' points, the team later decided to retire him due to a damaged engine. After winning in
Mexico and
Argentina, Loeb had a crash with
Conrad Rautenbach on a road section in
Jordan, from which he could only recover to take tenth place in the rally. He went on to win two events, and then finish close third to the
Ford factory team duo
Mikko Hirvonen and
Jari-Matti Latvala at the
Rally of Turkey. Loeb later notably won the
Rally Finland ahead of Hirvonen. This was the fourth time in the event's 58-year history that a non-
Nordic driver won the rally, after
Carlos Sainz in 1990,
Didier Auriol in 1992 and
Markko Märtin in 2003. This started a string of five victories for Loeb. In
Germany,
New Zealand and
Spain, Citroën also took double wins as his teammate
Dani Sordo took three runner-up spots in a row. Going into the penultimate round of the season, the
2008 Rally Japan, Loeb led Hirvonen by 14 points and needed a third place to secure the world drivers' title. Finishing behind Ford's Hirvonen and Latvala, Loeb broke
Juha Kankkunen's,
Tommi Mäkinen's and his own
record of four titles and became the first five-time world champion in rallying. After clinching the World Rally Championship, Loeb edged out Latvala to take his first
Wales Rally GB win, a feat which also helped secure his team their first
manufacturers' title since 2005, from 2006 and 2007 victors Ford.
2009 Loeb started the year by winning
Rally Ireland for the second time since 2007. He then won his first
Rally Norway ever, after a fierce battle with
Mikko Hirvonen, lasting throughout the very final stage. Being first on the road through all three days, Loeb kept his lead, in the end winning with 9.8 seconds over Hirvonen. Loeb continued his good form by winning over Hirvonen in
Cyprus, marking his career 50th victory, and in
Portugal. His victory in Argentina, the fifth in a row in this country, was also his fifth victory in a row since the start of the season. At the
Rally d'Italia Sardegna, Loeb had a puncture after going off the road and dropped from third to fourth. Although he passed
Petter Solberg for the final podium spot, he still finished fourth due to a time penalty for a safety rule violation; co-driver
Daniel Elena had unfastened his safety belts before the crew stopped the car for a tyre change. At the
Acropolis Rally, Loeb crashed out from third place. On
Rally Poland's return to the WRC, Loeb had another crash but he continued in the event under
superally rules. After team orders issued for the
Citroën Junior Team drivers and a late mistake by Ford's
Jari-Matti Latvala, Loeb found himself seventh but had lost the championship lead to Hirvonen by one point. By winning the
Rally Catalunya, Loeb reduced the deficit to Hirvonen in the title race before the final event of the year; once again trailing by a single point. The Frenchman gained the championship by winning the final event of the year, the
Rally GB. Victory was secured partly due to an incredible performance over SS8 and SS9, where in the course of only two stages Loeb extended his lead in the rally over Hirvonen from 2.4s to 25s.
2010 before the
2010 Rally Bulgaria The
2010 WRC season started with the snow-based
Swedish Rally, where Loeb finished second behind
Ford's
Mikko Hirvonen. He went on to take a clear championship lead by winning the following three gravel events:
Rally México,
Jordan Rally and
Rally of Turkey. In
New Zealand, Loeb finished third in a tight battle that saw the top five finish within 26 seconds of each other. In
Portugal, Loeb narrowly lost the win to his countryman
Sébastien Ogier of the
Citroën Junior Team, who took his debut win in the World Rally Championship. In the following
Rally Bulgaria, a new event in the series and the season's first tarmac rally, Loeb won while Citroën scored the WRC's first 1–2–3–4 in seventeen years. At the
60th Rally Finland, Loeb beat Citroën privateer
Petter Solberg to the final podium position, behind Ford's
Jari-Matti Latvala and Ogier. He went on to win the
Rallye Deutschland for the eighth time in a row, marking the first time a driver has won a WRC rally eight times. After a fifth place in
Japan, Loeb secured a record-extending seventh consecutive World Rally Championship title by winning his home event, the
Rallye de France. As the
Rallye de France–Alsace had replaced the
Tour de Corse as the French round of the WRC, Loeb ended up clinching the title on a final stage that was held in his home town of
Haguenau,
Alsace. During the course of the season, he was on the podium of all events but one (Japan where he finished fifth), and ended up the season with a record 105 points over runner-up
Jari-Matti Latvala.
2011 The
2011 season brought a new generation of
World Rally Cars. Now at the wheel of a
Citroën DS3 WRC, Loeb started his year by finishing sixth at the
Rally Sweden. He went on to win in
Mexico for the fifth time in row, after teammate
Sébastien Ogier crashed out from a narrow lead. In
Portugal, Loeb finished second to Ogier and took his first Power Stage win, collecting three more points from the final stage. At the
Jordan Rally, held during the
Arab Spring, the entire first day was cancelled. Loeb placed third behind the closest-ever finish in the history of the World Rally Championship. He then beat
Ford's
Mikko Hirvonen to the win at the
Rally d'Italia Sardegna. In
Argentina, Loeb won after a tight three-way battle, taking the lead from Ogier on the final stage and finishing 2.4 seconds ahead of Hirvonen. At the next event, the
Acropolis Rally in Greece, Loeb had to settle for second behind Ogier. In the high-speed
Rally Finland, he beat
Jari-Matti Latvala to become the first non-Nordic driver to win twice in the event's 60-year history. In August, Loeb signed a two-year contract extension with Citroën. At the
Rallye Deutschland, Loeb held a close lead ahead of Ogier after the first day and Citroën decided to freeze the situation. A puncture later dropped Loeb out of contention and he finished behind his teammate. This ended his record win streak in Germany and was the first time that he had lost in a tarmac-based event since the
2006 Monte Carlo Rally. Tension in the team grew; David Evans of
Autosport wrote that "it's war between the two Sebs". Before
Australia, Loeb held a 25-point lead in the championship ahead of Ogier. During the first day of the rally, both Sébastiens crashed out. Loeb later gained a point by climbing to tenth place after Citroën ordered Ogier to slow down. In his home event, the
Rallye de France, Loeb took the lead from the start but soon fell victim to a rare engine failure in his DS3 WRC and had to retire. As Ogier beat
Mini's
Dani Sordo to the win, Loeb now tied the lead in the championship with Hirvonen, and Ogier was only three points adrift. At the
Rally Catalunya, Loeb took his fifth win of the season and broke
Markku Alén's record (801) for most stage wins in the world championship. He carried an eight-point lead over Hirvonen into the season-ending
Wales Rally GB. Loeb took the rally lead from Latvala on the third stage, but lost it to Hirvonen by 0.4 seconds on stage six. However, Hirvonen soon went wide, spun and broke his radiator, which in turn caused severe engine problems. As Hirvonen was unable to restart, Loeb secured his eighth consecutive world championship. This title moved him ahead of seven-time champion
Michael Schumacher in terms of major motorsport championships won. While running in second place behind Latvala, Loeb retired from the rally due to a road section collision with a spectator who had driven his car on the wrong side of a narrow road.
2012 Loeb began his
2012 season by beating
Mini's
Dani Sordo to a record sixth win in the
Monte Carlo Rally. He also secured the maximum points by recording the fastest time for the power stage. In
Sweden, after hitting a snowbank on stage seven, Loeb was forced out of the fight for the number one spot. He finished sixth and gained three extra points by again winning the power stage. Loeb took his second victory of the season at the
Rally Mexico, ahead of his new teammate
Mikko Hirvonen. In
Portugal, he crashed out from third place on the night stages of the first day, after misunderstanding a pacenote. The
Rally Argentina was dominated by the Citroëns and Loeb drove to his 70th WRC victory. At the
Acropolis Rally in Greece, he cruised to an easy win after Ford's
Jari-Matti Latvala and
Petter Solberg ran into several problems and dropped out of contention. Loeb went on to continue his WRC win streak in
New Zealand and in
Finland, where he edged out Hirvonen to take his third win in the event. This marked the fourth double win in a row for the Citroën duo. After beating Latvala to the win in
Germany, Loeb finished second to the Finn at the
Wales Rally GB, after a tight battle for the position with Solberg. In late September, Loeb announced his retirement from full-time rallying, stating that he would compete only in selected events during the upcoming season. He added that he is interested in taking on a new challenge such as the
World Touring Car Championship. In his home event, the
Rallye de France, Loeb built a cushion over Latvala and title rival Hirvonen on the first two days. He then held Latvala at bay on the wet roads on Sunday, securing a record ninth drivers' title in the World Rally Championship and aiding Citroën to its eighth manufacturers' title. German magazine
Auto Bild noted that Loeb was now two world championship titles clear of Schumacher and equal to Valentino Rossi, and dubbed him "the best rally driver of all time and a shining light in motorsport." Former world champion
Ari Vatanen opined that Loeb's records are unlikely to be broken.
2013 Loeb competed in five rallies of the 2013 season: Monte Carlo, Sweden, Argentina, Germany and France. He started his partial WRC season with a win in Monte Carlo, and finished last to
Sébastien Ogier in Sweden, followed by another win in Argentina. Ahead of his home rally in France, it has been speculated it could be his WRC swansong. It was confirmed on 1 October 2013 as Loeb will continue racing for Citroën, this time for
World Touring Car Championship. However, Loeb crashed out on the first stage of day three. The rally was eventually won by Sebastien Ogier.
2014–20 , driving the
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC. Returning to the WRC after being absent in 2014, in
2015 Loeb participated in the
Monte Carlo Rally and finished eighth after a crash. In
2016 and
2017, he did not contest any rounds. Loeb drove three rounds in
2018 and won his last rally with
Citroën, the
Rally Catalunya. Loeb signed to race part time with the
Hyundai World Rally Team for the
2019 season. He got one podium in the
Rally Chile and participated in six rounds. He closed out 2019 with a win at the non-championship rally, the
Rallye du Var with his partner Laurène Godey as his co-driver. On 1 October 2020, Loeb announced that he would be leaving
Hyundai World Rally Team. He did not participate in the WRC in
2021.
2021 On 29 November 2021, Loeb's co-driver
Daniel Elena announced his retirement. Loeb then tested the
Ford Puma Rally1 for
M Sport, later announcing that would compete for the British squad part time in the WRC with new co-driver
Isabelle Galmiche.
2022 At the
Monte Carlo Rally, Loeb participated alongside
Isabelle Galmiche for
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, barely having recovered from the
Dakar Rally and with very little time behind the wheel of a WRC car since 2018. He battled his former rival
Sébastien Ogier (co-driver
Benjamin Veillas) all rally long, till Ogier got a puncture in the penultimate stage. At the final stage Loeb led by 9.5s, and Ogier got a 10-second penalty for a jumpstart. Loeb won his 80th WRC rally by 10.5s over Ogier, first for a manufacturer other than
Citroën World Rally Team and his first with a co-driver other than
Daniel Elena. He also became the oldest driver to lead and win a WRC Rally. Galmiche became the first woman co-driver to win a WRC event since
Fabrizia Pons in 1997. At the
Rally de Portugal, Loeb and Galmiche were 10.1 seconds behind rally leader
Elfyn Evans (co-driver
Scott Martin) in SS3, but won the next stage and took 10.6 seconds out of their deficit; therefore putting them in the overall rally lead by 0.5 seconds over Evans. At the first corner of SS5 though, Loeb slid wide into a barrier, completely destroying his rear-right suspension. On Saturday, Loeb had another mechanical issue which forced him to retire. The next rally they took part in was the
Safari Rally. The last time Loeb participated in that rally before 2022 was in 2002. Loeb and Galmiche had good speed and even managed to win a stage on Friday, but Loeb's engine had a small fire and wouldn't start up later. They retired for the day. Even though they were out of contention, they won two more stages on Sunday and ultimately recovered to eighth place. Loeb and Galmiche then took part in the
Acropolis Rally, where they ran for the lead alongside M Sport teammate
Pierre-Louis Loubet (co driver
Vincent Landais). Both crews traded stage wins, but Loeb was leading with Friday done. On the next day though, Loeb again encountered issues and had to retire.
2023 Loeb alongside his partner and co-driver Laurène Godey won the
Azores Rallye on their first attempt, in a
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.
Dakar Rally and Rally Raid 2016 . Loeb made his debut at the
2016 Dakar Rally in the
Peugeot 2008 DKR. He led the rally by seven minutes and 48 seconds but lost the lead to teammate
Stéphane Peterhansel by over eight minutes in SS6. Peterhansel won the event. Loeb won four stages and finished ninth, over two hours and 22 minutes from the lead.
2017 At the 2017
Silk Way Rally, Loeb had to abandon due to a finger injury which he had sustained in stage 9. He had been leading the overall standings up to that point. Loeb also took his career best finish of second at the
2017 Dakar Rally by winning five stages and just five minutes from the leader,
Stéphane Peterhansel. Prior to the retirement he had won only one stage, SS4.
2019 , driving the
Peugeot 3008 DKR.
Peugeot withdrew from
World Rallycross and from
Rally-Raid hence at the
2019 Dakar Rally Loeb and Elena competed with a private
Red Bull backed
2017 Peugeot 3008 DKR. They finished third with four stage wins, one hour and 54 minutes away from winner
Nasser Al-Attiyah.
2020 Loeb did not compete in the
2020 Dakar Rally. He announced in December that year that he would return in 2021 with the
Prodrive run
Bahrain Raid Xtreme team.
2021 At the
2021 Dakar Rally, Loeb made his debut for the
Prodrive run
Bahrain Raid Xtreme Team. He received a five-minute penalty for speeding in SS4, which left him furious. He retired in SS8 after getting two punctures and being stranded for five hours. He also experienced many navigation issues with his co driver
Daniel Elena. Later that year, Elena and Loeb announced that they had split. At the
Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, they finished sixth overall after having a driveshaft failure on day 1 and two punctures on day 5, the final day. The transmission broke on the first day, but their determination to finish meant that they scored valuable points. In the last stage, they had two punctures and drove cautiously for the last 200 km. They still managed to score 28 points, bringing the total to 112 and led the W2RC standings by one point from Al Attiyah and Baumel. At the
Rallye du Maroc, Loeb and Lurquin ran among the leading times, but in Stage 4 encountered a mechanical issue they couldn't fix, and hence dropped back in the overall rally standings. They continued to run the rally for earning points in the W2RC standings. They finished the rally with two stage wins. Loeb earned his first victory in the rally-raid discipline on the
Andalucia Rally, but finished second in the overall championship obtaining a total of 149 points, 20 points behind Al-Attiyah, who won the title.
2023 Loeb entered the second season of the
World Rally-Raid Championship in 2023, driving an upgraded
BRX Hunter. Loeb kicked off the year by finishing second again behind
Toyota Gazoo Racing's
Nasser Al-Attiyah and
Mathieu Baumel, with the final deficit to car #200 being 1 hour, 20 minutes and 49 seconds. He won seven stages in total with six consecutive stage victories from stage 8 to 13, which is a Dakar Rally record. Loeb bounced back from suffering massive time losses on stage 2, where his BRX Hunter suffered multiple punctures, despite receiving a spare wheel from teammate
Orlando Terranova. He also lost time with mechanical issues, with a tradrod breakage on stage 3 and a minor crash on stage 5, from which he was able to recover from and continue. Overheating problems at the start of the
Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge set the Frenchman back, and he would virtually fall out of title contention with a crash at the Sonora Rally in Mexico.
Racing Le Mans and sports cars As his WRC stature grew, Loeb began to participate in
road racing events and tests. He first competed in the
24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race in
2005, where he drove for the
Pescarolo Sport team's No. 17 entry. Reportedly, Loeb did much of his preparation for the race by running practice laps around the circuit in the
Sony PlayStation 2 video game
Gran Turismo 4 aboard a private jet. In the race, the car was plagued by incidents, but Loeb proved to be able to drive fast for his first race on a closed track. Loeb finished second overall in the
2006 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Pescarolo-
Judd, between the two
Diesel-powered
Audi R10. Free time in his WRC schedule allowed Loeb to race in the
French GT Championship (FFSA GT) where he drove a Ferrari 550 Prodrive and a Porsche 911 GT3-RSR as well as in the
French Carrera Cup where he achieved top-10 finishes. For 2012, he launched
Sébastien Loeb Racing which competes in FFSA GT and the
European Le Mans Series. Loeb drove for his own team at the
Circuit de Pau in the French Carrera Cup and won the race.
Formula One Loeb has had a number of
Formula One tests. He first tested for
Renault F1 at
Paul Ricard in December 2007, in a switch that saw
Heikki Kovalainen test Loeb's WRC car.
Red Bull, which became a major sponsor of the Citroën factory team during the 2008 season, rewarded Loeb for winning the WRC with a
Formula One test in
Red Bull Racing's 2008-spec
Red Bull RB4. He first drove the car at
Silverstone, and then took part in the first official Formula One winter test in
Barcelona. Loeb was eighth quickest of 17 drivers. Loeb continued to set his sights on a switch to
Formula One in 2009. Following stories that fellow Frenchman
Sébastien Bourdais was under threat at
Toro Rosso, Loeb told French newspaper ''
L'Équipe'' that he was interested in replacing Bourdais at the
Red Bull-backed team. He intended to make his F1 debut at the
2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix which took place in November, after the WRC season finished, with a view to making the switch full-time for . However, this plan was scuppered when he was not granted an
FIA Super Licence, rendering him ineligible to race in F1 for the foreseeable future as he had not done enough circuit racing at lower levels. He had also been in contact with the
US F1 Team about a possible drive for . Loeb has also taken part in an official
GP2 Series testing session after the
2009 season, where he drove for the
David Price Racing team, finishing last of 25 drivers.
FIA GT Series and Porsche Supercup 's Monaco Round. Loeb participated in the
2013 FIA GT Series season, driving for Sébastien Loeb Racing which entered two
McLaren MP4-12C cars. Loeb paired up with Portuguese driver
Álvaro Parente in one of the cars while Frenchman
Mike Parisy and Austrian
Andreas Zuber were the driver pairing for the other Sébastien Loeb Racing car. Loeb and Parente took a total of three qualifying race wins and one championship race win on their way to fourth place overall in the season. A number of reliability issues and racing incidents prevented the pair from scoring more victories. Loeb also participated in two races of the
2013 Porsche Supercup season at the
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and
Circuit de Monaco circuits, both events being held as support category races for the
2013 Formula One season. Loeb finished 11th in Spain and 16th in Monaco.
World Touring Car Championship at the
2014 Race of Japan. In June 2013, it was confirmed that
Citroën were to enter the FIA
World Touring Car Championship in 2014 with Loeb driving one of the factory supported cars built for new to 2014 regulations. He was partnered by four-time WTCC champion, ten-time ice racing champion and fellow Frenchman
Yvan Muller,
José María López and
Ma Qing Hua. In his
first full season in circuit racing, Loeb won two races and scored six podiums on his way to third in the championship behind surprise champion Lopez and runner-up Muller. In the
next season, he scored four wins and twelve podiums; again finishing third overall though with 61 more points. For the following season, contesting the
Dakar Rally meant Loeb switched to
Peugeot Sport and was not retained by Citroën for the
2016 WTCC season; which he expressed surprise at as he was hoping to contest for the WTCC title that season.
FIA World Rallycross Championship , driving the
Peugeot 208 WRX. On 29 February 2016, it was officially revealed that Loeb is going to join the factory backed Swedish
Team Peugeot-Hansen to participate in all 12 rounds of the 2016
FIA World Rallycross Championship, together with his Swedish teammate
Timmy Hansen. On 2 October, Loeb took his maiden victory in the
Latvian round of the world championship. With four podiums and six top fives, he finished fifth in the Supercar class drivers standings. In the
next season, he scored six podiums but no wins and finished fourth overall. In his
final season, he scored his last win at the
World RX of Belgium. He scored seven podiums in total and again finished fourth overall, with 15 more points than the previous season. He returned with Team Special One in 2023, but before the 2023 World RX of Britain, his car set on fire, destroying his, his teammate Guerlane Chicherit and the team's truck, ruling them all out of the rest of the season.
Extreme E 2021 In 2020, Loeb Signed with
Lewis Hamilton's
Team X44 for competing in the
Extreme E Championship alongside Spanish driver
Cristina Gutiérrez. They finished the season in second behind
Rosberg X Racing's
Johan Kristoffersson and
Molly Taylor. The teams were level on points but RXR were ahead by virtue of their three wins to X44's one win.
2022 A few days after the
2022 Monte Carlo Rally it was announced that
Team X44 retained their lineup of Loeb and Gutiérrez for the
2022 Extreme E Championship. They won the
Copper X-Prix, bringing them within contention of the title again. At the
Energy X-Prix, Gutiérrez crashed and had to change the chassis, resulting in a penalty. Nonetheless, X44 won the crazy race, enabling them to race the final. Their rivals
Rosberg X Racing did not make it to the final. X44 scored five crucial points in the Continental Traction Challenge, and ran fourth during the race, but were promoted to third due to the car ahead getting a Switch Zone speeding penalty. They therefore won the title by two points over RXR. Loeb and Gutiérrez finished the season with one win, four podiums, one pole and 86 points overall.
DTM Loeb announced he would make a one-off appearance for
AlphaTauri AF Corse alongside
Felipe Fraga in the
DTM Series at their
2022 season opener at the
Algarve International Circuit. Loeb was replacing
Nick Cassidy who had to race in
Formula E. Loeb finished 16th in Race 1 and 18th in Race 2.
Other ventures Pikes Peak Hill Climb In April 2013, Loeb tested a
Peugeot 208 T16 at
Mont Ventoux. Loosely based on the shape and design of the production 208, the T16 is a lightweight vehicle that uses the rear wing from the
Peugeot 908, and has a 3.2-litre, twin-turbo V6 engine, developing with the aim of competing at the
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Loeb won the event with a time of 8:13.878, smashing the previous record by a minute and a half. Loeb's record was broken by nearly 15 seconds by
Romain Dumas, driving the
Volkswagen I.D. R in 2018.
Race of Champions 2002 Loeb earned the title "Champion of Champions" by beating Marcus Grönholm in the final of the Race of Champions.
2004 Loeb alongside
Jean Alesi Won the Nations Cup for France at the
2004 Race of Champions.
Heikki Kovalainen defeated Loeb in the Individuals' Final. Loeb was also defeated in a special "World Champions Challenge" by
Michael Schumacher.
2005 After being surprised by the young event rookie
Heikki Kovalainen last year, Loeb beat
Tom Kristensen in the final to claim his second title.
2008 Loeb won the individual
2008 Race of Champions, becoming the second driver after compatriot Auriol to win the event more than twice.
2010 Loeb drove for Team France alongside four-time Formula One World Champion
Alain Prost. In the individual event, he made it to the final for the seventh time but lost to surprise winner
Filipe Albuquerque.
2022 At the
2022 Race of Champions, Loeb defeated 4 time
Formula 1 World Champion
Sebastian Vettel 3–1 in the Final to win the event. He equaled fellow
French World Rally Champion Didier Auriol's record to win four Races of Champions.
2025 Loeb competed in the
2025 Race of Champions in which he won out against
Supercars Championship driver
Chaz Mostert 2-0 in the Final to win the event. Loeb also drove for Team
France alongside
Formula Two driver
Victor Martins. The duo won the Nations Cup in the Final against Team Supercars (
Australia) consisting of
Supercars Championship Champions
Brodie Kostecki and
Will Brown. Consequently, Loeb is the first driver to win both the Nations Cup and the
Race of Champions within the same year.
X Games In July 2012, Loeb debuted in the
X Games in Los Angeles (
X Games XVIII), facing his old rival
Marcus Grönholm. Grönholm was hospitalised due to an accident in practice, and Loeb won the
rallycross category gold medal well ahead of
Ken Block, who was hampered for half the way to the finish line by a puncture. ==Media appearances==