There was only one emoji I saw appearing on my Twitter feed last Friday.
The goat.
I even got in on the act. I couldn’t help myself.
The driver who played a pivotal role in developing the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, and had won the Azores Rally twice in four attempts, shouldn’t have been losing to the one who’d never driven the Fabia before or been to the Azores.
But that’s Sébastien Loeb for you.
The nine-time World Rally champion built up a 15.1-second lead in the foggy and challenging conditions Friday threw up, and duly held on from there – doing what he always used to do best; forcing Andreas Mikkelsen to push too hard and make a mistake to simplify his route to victory.
By Saturday, the emoji flooding my Twitter feed was the alien. This effort wasn’t deemed to be human.
It’s probably a bit insulting to a serial winner like Loeb, but somehow we are all still left feeling surprised by what this man can do.
We shouldn’t be – Loeb has always been a cut above. But his ability to consistently defy all common rallying logic never ceases to amaze.
Much like somebody else right now: Sébastien Ogier.
I’m not going to bore you with that ludicrous championship-leading statistic about Ogier again – we’ve mentioned that plenty of times since Rally México – but the same awe plenty of us had for Loeb at the weekend was the same which we held for the Toyota driver a fortnight earlier.
It’s remarkable for two drivers who, between them, have won 17 World Rally Championships and 137 world rallies that they are still finding a way to impress.
But the wonder lies in the context.
When first Loeb and then Ogier made the WRC their own, the majesty of their achievements was lost in the domination. Fans’ attention turned to craving for an upset rather than appreciating the skill and brilliance of what the respective Sébastien was achieving.
When a driver wins, and wins so often, they don’t endear themselves to the watching public. Just look at the difference in Sebastian Vettel’s popularity at the end of his Formula 1 career vs the start.
In the case of rallying’s two Sébs, clearly they are both still winning. But winning rallies, not championships.
That’s not because they can no longer win championships – I certainly have no doubt that both are still up to that, particularly Ogier – but because they’re choosing not to put themselves in the frame for them.
And because they’re therefore not around so much, their sheer brilliance is being appreciated for absolutely everything it is, and not bemoaned for making the spectacle stale or too predictable.
We all know Loeb is still a driver that can win rallies. He won the opening round of the WRC’s Rally1 hybrid era last year after all. And challenged for the lead on all three of his succeeding starts in a Ford Puma.
But witnessing him take it to past WRC2 champion Mikkelsen on his first rally in over six months was special, because we aren’t seeing him in a car week-in week-out.
It’s the same with Ogier.
I didn’t exactly hold back in my praise of the eight-time champion after his record-breaking seventh win in México last month, labeling the 2023 version of Ogier the best we’ve ever seen.
A lot of that lies in the fact he’s able to turn up when he wants and still be the best (but plenty is down to his endearing human side too that’s now totally different to when he first burst onto the scene).
But it’s clearly evident that less Loeb and less Ogier makes both of them more astonishing whenever they’re back, in exactly the same way you get on far better with your partner after you’ve been away for a few days because you’re not taking what’s in front of you for granted.
However, the other side of the coin is that Loeb and Ogier are potentially driving even better too, simply because they’ve got no long-term strategy or any point to prove. They’re relaxed and free from any pressure, competing with the sole mission to do their best and try to win the rally.
Which is clearly working!
If 2022 was the year of the new generation being ushered in thanks to Kalle Rovanperä’s heroics, the first third of 2023 has very much belonged to the old guard.
Now somebody give Loeb a WRC drive and let’s have one final ding-dong battle with Ogier.
Unlike the Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate in soccer which many consider to be settled in Messi’s favor after Argentina’s World Cup win in December, the jury is very much out on rallying’s ‘greatest of all time’ decision.
And incredibly both Loeb and Ogier are still very much putting their best foot forward.
