Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena will compete together for the first time since their split in March, contesting next month’s Rally Mont-Blanc Morzine in a Peugeot 306 Maxi.
Loeb and Elena had been partners for 23 years and became the most successful crew in World Rally Championship history with nine world titles and 79 event victories. But a trying Dakar Rally earlier this year prompted change, and the pair parted company in an official sense.
Loeb has contested one rally raid event with his new co-driver, Fabian Lurquin, and looked likely to win the Baja España Aragón before a problem on the final stage cost him 11 minutes and dropped them to seventh.
However, next month’s French Tarmac round is just a bit of fun for Loeb and therefore he has welcomed Elena back into the co-driver’s seat for their first rally since Rally Turkey for Hyundai Motorsport last September where they finished third.
Loeb will compete in his own 306 Maxi – which he has not driven competitively since two outings in France in 2017 – and will be joined by another French rally legend, François Delecour, in a two-car team.
Photo: McKlein Image Database
Delecour, who drove a 306 when it was new for Peugeot back in the late 1990s, will be partnered with Jean-Rudolphe Guigonnet for his second rally start of the season. He competed on the French Tarmac opener – Rally le Touquet – in an Alpine A110 Rally RGT but retired with mechanical issues.
