‘Greatest Of All Time’ was how Muhammad Ali came to be described, and it’s an accolade that could equally well apply to Sébastian Loeb. With eight consecutive world titles (2004-11) and 67 rally wins, his stats simply crush those of his peers and past ‘best ever’ contenders. He is – no hyperbole – a living legend and The Red Bulletin visited him at home to talk wheels, winning and world domination.
Scratch watches over his protégé. He never leaves his side. Sébastien Loeb’s mascot is displayed proudly on the rear of his helicopter and adorns most of the Frenchman’s helmets. It gives clues about the personality of this remarkable eight-time World Rally Champion. Scratch, an Alsatian, is a good host, too. He takes us for a walk near his home, a couple of hundred metres up into the Swiss foothills of the Jura mountains. “You see over there? That’s Mont Blanc,” says the man usually reckoned to be the sports darling of France, alongside Sébastien Chabal and Yannick Noah.
Today, there are clouds either side of Lake Geneva, but they can’t prevent the 4,807m of Europe’s highest peak from soaring over the horizon.Loeb is affable and all smiles when we meet in the heart of Switzerland’s Vaud canton, just a couple of weeks after his latest world rally title conquest. No doubt he’s relishing this downtime at the hillside home he shares with his wife, Séverine, and daughter Valentine, during the brief off-season lull in the sport he continues to dominate so consummately. He suggests a coffee. Then another. And soon he’s away, talking informally and with no holds barred.
The Red Bulletin : Sébastien, can you remember all 67 of your WRC wins?
Sébastien Loeb: [Surprised] No. That’s terrible!
OK, well where have you had the most wins then?
[Without hesitation] Germany. [He’s won there eight times.]
"My first job was in a factory, making plastic supports for baths and sinks"
The Monte Carlo Rally, which has been off the WRC calendar since 2008, gets the 2012 season under way in a few days’ time [January 17-22]. Almost like being at home…?
It’s really a rally for my co-driver, Daniel [Elena]. That’s where he’s from. It’s a shame the Monte was dropped for a couple of years. There was a desire from the sport’s organisers for a new schedule, which would keep some races but not others. They must have forgotten you need to keep a solid base, because the ‘Monte Carlo’ was removed at the same time as the Tour de Corse. But it’s good that it’s coming back. It’s run in France, so it’s special for us.
How many times have you won it?
I don’t remember…
Five, actually. It also has the famous Col de Turini stage.
Daniel used to be a spectator on the Monte Carlo course when he was younger. I didn’t even know what it was back then.
Did you ever go to rallies when you were a kid?
I once went to the Vosges Rally, I think. My father took me there. Maybe when I was about 10. After that, I didn’t go to another one until I was competing.
Which drivers impressed you back in those days?
The problem is, I didn’t even know what rallying was back then! So I was never a fan of anyone’s. It wasn’t till I was almost 18 that I started watching rallies on TV with my mates. We used to say: ‘It’s amazing what those guys can do with their cars.’ But no more than that.
What was your first job?
I was a PE teacher, like my dad. He was a gym trainer at a club and then a Departmental Technical Advisor before going to work in a school. I could see myself following in his footsteps. I wasn’t really into studying. And I knew that I might like it.
Read the full interview in January's issue of The Red Bulletin.
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