Sébastien Loeb’s Dakar Rally is over after his Dacia Sandrider failed an FIA Technical Delegate safety inspection following his high-speed accident on stage three.
Loeb was barely 12km into the 327km stretch from Bisha to Al Henakiyah when his car clipped a ditch and launched into a series of rolls on a partially off-piste section of road.
He and navigator Fabian Lurquin were unhurt in the incident, but significant repairs and a subsequent engine overheating issue cost the pair over an hour to stage winner Saood Variawa.
Loeb did make it back to the Al Henakiyah bivouac in 16th place overall but faced a nervous wait to see if he would be able to take the start of stage four on Wednesday morning.
However, the stewards decided that, due to the damage sustained in crash, it was not safe enough to continue in the rally.
The stewards’ decision read: “at the end of stage three, the safety cage of car #219 was inspected following a crashing during the selective section and found damage.
In echoes of Carlos Sainz's accident two days earlier, Loeb was able to resume after the roll – but his rollcage took too much damage in the impact
“In the opinion of the FIA Technical Delegate, considering the damage of the safety cage, and based on article 283-1 of the Appendix J, it is not safe to allow the competitor to continue on the event.
“The stewards do not doubt the information contained in the FIA Technical Delegate’s report.”
The decision is the latest disappointment for Loeb on the Dakar Rally, having failed to win the event in the nine appearances since 2019.
Loeb’s disqualification from the rally means that two of the pre-event favorites are now out of the running.
The same fate befell M-Sport Ford’s Carlos Sainz after the defending winner crashed on the first part of the 48-hour chrono stage on Sunday, as well as Century Racing’s Laia Sanz who was forced out after her CR6-T’s rollcage was displaced by 2mm.
Dacia Sandriders signalled its intent to appeal the decision in accordance with Article 15 of the FIA International Sporting Code and Chapter 4 of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules.
In a team statement it said: “The Dacia Sandriders acknowledges the Decision of the Stewards to disqualify Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin from the 2025 Dakar Rally as a result of deformation sustained to the #219 Dacia Sandrider during an accident on Stage 3 of the event today (Tuesday January 7).
“Following the accident, a thorough inspection of the #219 Dacia Sandrider was carried out by technicians from The Dacia Sandriders under the close supervision of the team’s technical director, Philip Dunabin, and engineering consultant, David Lapworth. Having been summoned to a Stewards’ hearing in response to a report issued by the FIA Technical Delegate, representatives of The Dacia Sandriders made a submission to the Stewards.
“The Dacia Sandriders stated that calculations to verify the structure of the car’s safety cage were made and concluded that a section of the structure, although deformed, is not integral to the strength of the structure and, therefore, does not impact the safety of the car. While safety is always of paramount importance,
“The Dacia Sandriders shares the disappointment of Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin following the Decision of the Stewards and decided to lodge an appeal.”
The chances of the appeal being successful appear slim given the initial stewards’ decision stated that disqualification may only be overturned in ‘exceptional circumstances’.
“The International Court of Appeal has already deemed in the past that in ‘exceptional circumstances’ the objective responsibility of a competitor for a case of non-compliance of its car can lead to a less severe sanction than disqualification.
“In this such case, only disqualification of the car #219 may be granted.”
