The two teams finished equal on points (155). However, Molly Taylor and Johan Kristoffersson (RXR) took the glory after having more victories than their rival (3-1). However, X44 showed a great competitive level during the five X Prix of the campaign, but a touch of luck was missing at key moments that may have sealed the title in their favor.

Loeb was born on February 26, 1974 in Haguenau, Alsace (France), where he started motor racing at a very young age and, unlike many, decided to opt for rallying instead of single-seaters, something really strange for those who dream of becoming professional drivers. However, his decision was more than right.

His first official rally races came in 1995 at the “Rallye Jeunes” operation. What Loeb didn’t know was that he was being heavily watched by Dominique Heintz and Rémi Mammosser, who took him to be behind the wheel of their team called Ambition Sport Auto.

It didn’t take long for his talent to shine at a regional level, jumping to compete nationally in France, where he won the French Rally in 2000. He also successfully competed at the German and Monte Carlo Rallies, as well as racing alongside one of the biggest names in the category, Spain’s Carlos Sainz.

Related Content: Extreme E Drivers Special: Cristina Gutierrez

The Frenchman progressed further through his career to become one of the best. In 2011, he set the record for the winningest driver in World Rally Championship (WRC) history, when he won his eighth crown out of the nine he currently holds. Notably, all his titles came consecutively, from 2004 to 2012.

Reaching Extreme E

Faced with his impressive talent, Lewis Hamilton and the X44 Team could not turn a blind eye, so Sébastien Loeb arrived with all the prestige behind his name in rally with nine championships in a row, and 79 races won, to form an imposing duo with Spaniard Cristina Gutiérrez.

“Joining the X44 team is an opportunity to continue doing what I love, which is racing, and I’m looking forward to competing on an EV. Cristina is a fantastic driver and I can’t wait to partner with her and see what we can achieve together. I’m really impressed by what Lewis is doing within Formula 1 as well, so to be able to work with him on this is an honor,” said Loeb when he joined the team.

Written by | Ronald Ortega

The post Sébastien Loeb: Rally History and Prestige Available for X44 and Extreme E appeared first on Green Racing News.

Loeb refers to an early power steering failure, a problem that also affected Carlos Sainz Sr during the shakedown and Chip Ganassi Racing pair Sara Price and Kyle LeDuc throughout Saturday.

Loeb said he had to “fight” to stabilize the SUV and called for the problems to be fixed before the next Senegal event on May 29-30.

It may also interest you: Extreme E: Hamilton team will have technical assistance from Prodrive

 “We would expect to do better in the final. But everything is played in the first corner and we had a problem of power steering. It was a hard fight to keep the car on the track all of the race. Overall, I feel a bit disappointed for this final. But for the rest, I feel happy with the weekend.”

Loeb added that right at the end, the off-roader’s steering and mechanics were perfect even though there were teams of differing opinions.

Nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb and seasoned Dakar teammate Cristina Gutiérrez finished 1 minute and 14 seconds behind the victorious Rosberg X Racing pair in the AlUla desert semifinal.

“It’s just the beginning of the series so we are just discovering some tiny little things. The main thing is that we showed that together we can be fighting for the win. This is something we didn’t really know,” said the Frenchman.

Written by | Gabriel Sayago

The post It could have cost the final! Loeb wants Extreme E solutions for power steering appeared first on Green Racing News.

In Round 1, Sébastien set the second fastest time (10: 48.067), behind only Johan Kristoffersson of the Rosberg Xtreme Racing squad (created by Nico Rosberg), who completed his first lap in 10:43.565.

The Acciona Sainz XE Team also completed the third position with an excellent appearance from the Spanish Laia Sanz, who achieved a good time of 11: 16.231.

Read also: Intense dust forces Extreme E to modified its format

Rugged Extreme E First Round

Two incredible accidents marred the first qualifying round of the “Electric Odyssey”. One of them was carried out by the French Stéphane Sarrazin of Veloce Racing, who overturned without receiving any kind of damage.

On the other hand, the experienced German Claudia Hurtgen got the worst of it, and that is after losing control of her Odyssey 21 she did at least 3 twists in the electric SUV. However, she was able to get out of the vehicle without major problems.

The decisive lap

The importance of the second round was quite high considering that the first 3 positions qualify directly to the semifinal. Carlos Sainz gave a master class on how to drive an off-road setting a time of 11:20.864, but he was no better than Cristina Gutiérrez who did it at 11:07.931.

For her part, the Australian Molly Taylor from RXR took third place, qualifying her team direct to the semifinal phase.

Thus was the order of classifications. The first three places qualified for the semifinal, the next three will go to the Crazy Race and the other 3 will compete in the Shoot Out.

It is important to mention that in the second round, the JBXE Racing team was penalized 3 minutes for speeding and time in the driver change.

The action will resume on Sunday April 4 with the Crazy Race, the Shoot Out, the semi-final and the final.

Written by | Osward Rubio

The post Sébastien Loeb and Cristina Gutiérrez top the Extreme E qualifying round appeared first on Green Racing News.

At 47 years old, Loeb has nearly two and a half decades of experience that have not passed in vain. Currently, he holds the record for most World Rally Championship titles.

Born in 1974 in the historic Haguenau region, the veteran took his first steps in the late XX century driving in local rally races. One of them, the Rallye Jeunes.

Read also: JBXE Racing and Lotus Engineering announce an alliance facing the Extreme E season

Due to his upgrading development through various victories on a regional scale, in 1999 he was selected to represent the Citroën World Rally Team, a team in which he could repeatedly embrace victory until he became a legend.

2004 marked the beginning of the hegemony of Loeb, who won nine titles in 10 seasons in the World Rally Championship. His streak was cut in 2013 by his compatriot Sébastien Ogier.

During the following years, the protagonist of our special today dedicated himself to participating in the Dakar Rally and the World Rallycross Championship, where although he did not lift any trophies, he had very good performances.

A turn now into sustainability

At the end of 2020 Sébastien Loeb decided to take a different course in his career. However, not because he has retired from motorsport, as the Frenchman was announced in the X44 Extreme E team, founded by none other than his colleague, the prominent Lewis Hamilton.

Loeb will share the wheel with the talented Spanish driver, Cristina Gutiérrez.

“I had the chance to drive the car recently and it is incredible. Cristina is a fantastic driver and I can’t wait to partner with her and see what we can achieve together. I am really impressed by what Lewis is doing in Formula 1 too, so to be able to work with him on this is an honor.”

Sébastien Loeb’s words after being confirmed for the X44 team.

The Extreme E is a new off-road electric SUV competition founded by entrepreneur Alejandro Agag, which will have its premiere on April 3-4 in the harsh desert of Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia.

Written by | Osward Rubio

The post Extreme E drivers special: Sébastien Loeb appeared first on Green Racing News.

Born in France, Loeb is nicknamed “Le Patron” (the boss). His sporting prowess left their mark from a young age, when he became the four-time Alsace gymnastics champion.

In 1995, Sébastien left gymnastics and work to focus on being a competition pilot. In 1998, he participated in the French Citroën Saxo Trophy series, winning the title in 1999 before participating in the Junior World Rally Championship in 2001.

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There, he rose to fame thanks to his victories in five of the six events. His first competition in the World Rally Championship (WRC) came in 2002, with the Citroën Total World Rally Team.

Loeb has managed to win at least nine WRC titles, triumphing in 78 rounds, more than double that of the rest of the drivers in this category.

Since 2005, he has won 52 of the 55 races contested, and in 2009, he received the Legion of Honor, making it clear that he is one of the great drivers of all time.

The Frenchman also won the Race of Champions in 2003, 2005 and 2008, came second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2006 and won the rallycross final in his first appearance at the sports star-studded X Games in 2012.

Not surprisingly, 2013 was also a success. Sébastien was second in Rally Sweden and first in Argentina. In 2014 he reached third place in the FIA World Touring Car Championship.

Read also: Laia Sanz: a moto racer without limits who will drive an all-terrain off-road vehicle

After almost a decade at the top of his sport, Sébastien Loeb is still competing and in 2021 he is going for a new challenge in his career when being announced by the X44 team, founded by Lewis Hamilton, as the star driver for the inaugural season of the Extreme E.

“Joining team X44 is an opportunity for me to continue to do what I love, which is race, I’m looking forward to competing in an electric vehicle” said Loeb.

Written by: Jhonattan González

The post Sébastien Loeb, a high quality rider for the Extreme E appeared first on Green Racing News.