King Loeb, they call him. Or the Extra-terrestrial. He has a wonderful feel for a car, excellent eyes and reactions, is consistent and intelligent. “And he also never panics and is always calm,” says his long-time co-driver Daniel Elena. “I remember when we had problems with the lights at the British rally in extreme conditions and low visibility. He decided to turn them off because he saw better without them. The moon shone through the clouds and he drove more by the road book than by sight. It was incredible.”

He can extract a lot of information from his body and has very high-quality visual perception. When his sight was tested, it was found that it is comparable with the best pilots, and this helps him connect his car with the environment, wherever he is.

Yes, he is genuinely incredible. The way he can drive a car is breathtaking. You observe his onboard readings and you can especially see his stoic calm, precise handling of the car and extraordinarily economic driving. “The most important aspects are not physical, but neurological,” says Marc Germain, an osteopath and Loeb’s doctor. “He can extract a lot of information from his body and has very high-quality visual perception. When his sight was tested, it was found that it is comparable with the best pilots, and this helps him connect his car with the environment, wherever he is.” In other words, he’s like a scientific library—he can very rapidly find the good books and reach for the right one for the relevant situation. His earlier career as a gymnast helped him develop his 3D perception and coordinate his movements.

Yes, Loeb was a gymnast. He was not that far off going to the Olympics. He’s no go-karter or son of rich parents. He had a normal childhood, and even now that he’s a superstar, he never forgets his origins. When he started, he did not have much money and learned how to repair almost everything on his car. “He’s a completely normal lad,” says his former team colleague and WRC champion Carlos Sainz, who Loeb encounters at the Dakar Rally. “Success hasn’t changed him—he’s the same person that I knew when he started, and I don’t know of any other driver who is so well prepared physically.”

He could drive anything, take it to the very limit and still have everything under control. He’s simply assured. Loeb’s talent is indisputable, and his feel for a car is admirable. But the reason everybody loves and admires him is that he’s human.

He first sat in a racing car when he was eleven years old, at his home junior championship; it was 1995. A year later, he first started in the general classification of the Rally du Florival, and since 1997, Loeb’s co-driver has been Daniel Elena. Loeb’s first start in the world championship was at the Catalan rally in 1999; he drove a Citroenem Xsara Kit Car. Although he crashed, he won his class in the next race. He became a Citroen factory driver in 2001 and won the junior world championship with a Saxo Kit Car and came second in Corsica with a Xsara WRC. He had to wait for his first victory in the World Rally Championship until Germany a year later, and in the next season he finished second overall—only a single point behind the winner Petter Solberg. He dominated a year later, then won it another eight times!

Is he a driving god? As a modest lad, he will tell you that it was always the result of a large team’s efforts, that there were another 160 people, from designers to mechanics, behind his every win.

He remained modest even when he swapped rallies for circuits. In 2008, he spent 82 test laps in a Red Bull Formula 1 car. He was 2.5 seconds faster than Bruno Senna in a Honda, and in 2006, he finished second overall at Le Mans. “He’s extremely good, there’s no doubt of that. What he can do with a car is simply wonderful,” said seven-times Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher. Carlos Sainz adds: “He could drive anything, take it to the very limit and still have everything under control. He’s simply assured.”

Loeb’s talent is indisputable, and his feel for a car is admirable. But the reason everybody loves and admires him is that he’s human. When they have a problem, some drivers say: “The car is useless. Sébastien never did that,” Technical Director Xavier Mestelan-Pinon recalls of Loeb’s time with the Citroën factory team. “He says: How can I help you?” Nobody is frightened of him, the mechanics call him by first name, and he talks to them as his equals. 

Yes, he’s multi-functional,” says Marie-Pierre Rossi of him. “But he’s also a normal lad, the same as your son or brother. He doesn’t dissemble. He likes sleeping and is always late.

But there’s a mercilessness hidden under all this and a constant desire to always be the best. Carlos Sainz, his friend and rival, knows this from rallies and now also from the Dakar Rally. “You could give him any car, even from group B, and he would still win. The fact that he did not win the Dakar Rally was probably a case of him being a rookie. I was surprised he didn’t compete this year, and I’m curious to see what will happen in 2021,” he added. 

Yes, Sebastian Loeb is returning to the Dakar Rally. After racing a few rallies this season, he will once again attempt to take first place on the hardest long-distance rally in the world.  

“In the spring, Sébastien did some tests in one of our Toyota T3s which competed in this year’s Dakar Rally. He said he would like to race the Dakar Rally again in a car which could try for the win,” the head of the Belgian Overdrive team Jean-Marc Fortin told Le Soir a few months ago. In the end, Loeb didn’t come to an agreement with him and at the Dakar Rally we will see him behind the wheel of a BRX T1 4×4 special built for Bahrain Raid Xtreme by the British company Prodrive. Loeb is now driving the first test kilometres with it, and in the near future, he will go to the Arab peninsula so that he can get up to speed and fix any problems with the car. “Yes, he’s multi-functional,” says Marie-Pierre Rossi of him. “But he’s also a normal lad, the same as your son or brother. He doesn’t dissemble. He likes sleeping and is always late.”

Sébastien Loeb was born on 26 February 1974. He raced for the Citroën World Rally team in the World Rally Championship (WRC) and is the most successful driver in WRC history. He has won the world championship a record nine times in a row. He holds several additional WRC records, including the most race wins, the most podium finishes, and the most stage wins.

In 2006, he finished second overall at the 24h Le Mans. In 2012, he won in his first appearance at X Games XVIII in the rallycross final. In 2014 and 2015, he raced the World Touring Car Championship, attaining third place overall both times. He finished second in the Dakar Rally in 2017. In 2018, Loeb won a World Rally Championship race in Spain, six years after retiring. What comes next?