Sébastien Loeb, French race car driver
Sébastien Loeb (French pronunciation: [sebastjɛ̃ lœb]; born 26 February 1974) is a French professional rally, racing and rallycross driver. He competed for the Citroën World Rally Team in the World Rally Championship (WRC) and is the most successful driver in WRC history, having won the world championship a record 9 times in a row. He holds several other WRC records, including most event wins, most podium finishes and most stage wins. Loeb retired from full time WRC participation at the end of 2012. He currently drives part time in the WRC for M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, part time in the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) for Bahrain Raid Xtreme, and full time in the Extreme E Championship for Team X44.Originally a gymnast, Loeb switched to rallying in 1995 and won the Junior World Rally Championship in 2001. Signed by the Citroën factory team for the 2002 season, he and co-driver Daniel Elena took their maiden WRC win that same year at the Rallye Deutschland. After finishing runner-up to Petter Solberg by one point in 2003, Loeb took his first drivers' title in 2004. Continuing with Citroën, he went on to take a record ninth consecutive world title in 2012. Loeb is a tarmac expert, having won all but three of the WRC rallies on that surface in which he has participated between 2005 and 2013.
Loeb has competed in motorsports apart from rallying like the FIA World Rallycross Championship, the World Touring Car Championship, the GT World Challenge Europe, the Porsche Supercup, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and many other racing categories across many disciplines.
Besides his success in rallying, Loeb is a four-time winner at the Race of Champions, after taking home the Henri Toivonen Memorial Trophy and the title "Champion of Champions" in 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2022. In 2004, he won the Nations' Cup for France with Jean Alesi. In 2006, he finished second in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Loeb was named the French Sportsman of the Year in 2007 and 2009, and made knight of the Legion of Honour (Légion d'honneur) in 2009. In 2012, he won the rallycross final in his first appearance at X Games XVIII. Loeb and Cristina Gutiérrez finished second in the 2021 Extreme E Championship for Team X44.In 2018, Loeb won the Spanish round of that year's World Rally Championship, in a rare entry six years after his retirement as a full-time rally driver. In late 2021 he tested the Ford Puma Rally1 car several times, before joining the M-Sport Ford WRT for a part-time drive in the 2022 season. He took his 80th WRC victory at the 2022 Monte Carlo Rally, barely a week after finishing second at the Dakar Rally.