From A for Acropolis to Z for New Zealand

Sébastien Loeb has left a bigger mark on rally sport than any other driver. Recently in Japan he was crowned World Champion for the fifth time in a row. Let’s accompany Sébastien through his career to date from A to Z.

A for Acropolis Rally: In the years 2005 and 2008 Loeb won the classic that annually takes rally stars past the famous Meteora monasteries.

B for Bougy-Villars: Today Sébastien and his family live in Bougy-Villars, a village with 450 inhabitants on Lake Geneva.

C for Citroen: Sébastien Loeb and Citroen are the most successful team in the history of rally sport. Loeb celebrated all 46 World Rally Championship victories and five World Championship titles behind a Citroen steering wheel.

D for ADAC Rallye Deutschland: No other rally is more closely connected to Sébastien Loeb than the ADAC Rallye Deutschland. It has been a WRC event since 2002, and Sébastien has won it every year since – an unbelievable seven times in a row.

E for Elena: Daniel Elena has been Sébastien Loeb’s co-pilot since 1998. Alongside Citroen, another point of reference in Loeb’s racing driver career.

F for Formula 1: Sébastien Loeb also proved his speed off the rally tracks. In 2007 he swapped his Citroen C4 for tests with Heikki Kovalainen’s Renault F1. In the first winter tests after the 2008 season Sébastien took a seat in a Formula 1 cockpit in Barcelona for another test – this time with Red Bull Racing.

G for Guy: Guy Fréquelin was a rally driver in his own right – runner-up World Champion in 1981 – and subsequently team manager for the Citroen World Rally Team. Fréquelin is Sébastien Loeb’s mentor and ‘foster father’ in the sports world.

H for Haguenau: In Haguenau, Alsace, Sébastien Loeb came into the world on February 26, 1974.

I for Ireland: With his victory at the first ever Ireland Rally 2007, Sébastien Loeb paved the way for his fourth title in four years.

J for Japan: A third place at the rally around Sapporo was enough to secure a premature fifth World Championship title in 2008.

K for Kronos: At the end of 2005 Citroen officially withdrew from rally sport. Sébastien Loeb changed to the privately-owned Kronos team and in the 2006 season celebrated his third title.

L for Le Mans: In 2006 Sébastien Loeb, as in 2005, drove for Henri Pescarolo’s team at the 24-hour race in Le Mans. On Sunday, shortly after 4 o’ clock in the afternoon, Loeb crossed the finish line second.

M for Monte Carlo: The Rally Monte Carlo is the oldest rally in history. The home rally of co-pilot Daniel Elena, Sébastien has won it five times – more often than Tommi Mäkinen, Walter Röhrl or Sandro Munari.

N for non-Nordic: Sébastien Loeb is the only non-Scandinavian to win the Rally Finland as well as the Swedish Rally.

O for Oberhoffen-sur-Moder: Oberhoffen-sur-Moder is where Sébastien spent his childhood. Here he became Alsatian champion as a gymnast four times.

P for Pirelli: Since 2008 Sébastien Loeb has been driving rallies with tires from the house of Pirelli.

Q for Querol: Querol is the second and fifth special stage of the Rally Espana. With the fastest times in both tests as well as nine others, Sébastien Loeb secured his ninth season victory in Spain in 2008.

R for RB4: As ‘reward’ for his fifth WC title, Sébastien Loeb participated in test driving in the Red Bull Racing cockpit of an RB4 in Barcelona.

S for Séverine: “My partner, my friend, my accomplice, my wife, my right hand and sometimes my co-pilot”. Sébastien describing his wife Séverine.

T for Tour de Corse: The way genuine French do it, Sébastien Loeb debuted in the WRC in 1999 at his home rally.

U for Uddeholm Swedish Rally: For decades the Swedish Rally had been in the tight grasp of Scandinavians until Sébastien Loeb was celebrated as the first and to date only non-Scandinavian winner in 2004.

V for Valentine: On November 19, 2007, Sébastien’s daughter Valentine was born.

W for World Champion: For the last five years the name of the WRC World Champion has annually been Sébastien Loeb – one more record.

X for Xsara: With a WRC racing version of the undynamic Xsara, Citroen took the rally stage in 2001. Thirty-two victories and three WC titles later Xsara was sent into well-deserved retirement in 2006.

Y for Yuparo: The special stages two and six of the Rally Japan are called Yuparo. Third place in Japan was enough for Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena to secure their fifth WC title.

Z for New Zealand Rally: The New Zealand Rally 2007 brought the closest ever result in rally history. With 353.56 kilometers behind him, Sébastien Loeb came in only 0.3 seconds behind his long-time rival, the two-time World Champion Marcus Grönholm.