Sébastien Loeb says the FIA’s decision to disqualify him from the 2025 Dakar Rally is ‘hard to swallow’ and ‘not based on solid arguments’ following his stage three crash.
Loeb was forced to withdraw from the 47th edition of the Dakar after a safety inspection found sufficient damage to the rollcage of his Dacia Sandrider, leaving the nine-time World Rally champion facing another early exit.
His Dacia Sandriders team had launched an appeal to the decision but Loeb and co-driver Fabian Lurquin did not start stage four on Wednesday.
“It’s really frustrating to head back to Jeddah instead of being in the car fighting out there,” Loeb said. “Especially when you see what’s happening today – there was still so much to play for! With 1h15m behind the leaders, nothing was lost yet.
“Sure, we would have started way back, but there were opportunities to grab. Unfortunately, that’s how it goes…
“As for our rollover, I’m honestly at a bit of a loss for words. It wasn’t from pushing too hard; we just got caught out by a bad compression simple as that. There wasn’t much we could do in the moment. These things happen, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating.”
Loeb joined fellow WRC champion Carlos Sainz on the early flight back home, after the latter’s M-Sport Ford Raptor also failed an FIA safety inspection. Sainz’s own withdrawal came a day after his compatriot Laia Sanz was forced out due to a 2mm distortion of the rollcage.
Loeb believes that the team had been able to sufficiently prove the structural integrity of the car to the FIA and feels that the requirements demanded by the inspections do not currently meet the extreme discipline of cross-country rallying.
“The decision from the stewards yesterday – honestly, it’s hard to swallow. I find it frustrating and disappointing because, in my opinion, it’s not based on solid arguments,” Loeb reflected.
“Of course, safety is super important – I get that. But the line they’ve drawn here doesn’t feel suited to our discipline, where we race in extreme conditions.
“Our team provided evidence to prove the roll cage was still solid, and I trust them completely.
“Even visually, you can see the safety wasn’t compromised. So yeah, it’s tough to accept.”
Loeb is still without a victory on the world’s toughest rally raid event, after nine previous attempts. His best result has been second, which he has achieved three times, while an elusive maiden win must wait for another year.
