Pierre-Louis Loubet wants to do a full World Rally Championship season next year, feeling his seven-round 2022 campaign proves he deserves it.
Loubet’s reputation had taken a battering throughout the 2021 season with 2C Compétition where he struggled for results and form, culminating in an accident off the stages that broke his hip.
Expectations were therefore modest as Loubet embarked on a European-only season with M-Sport Ford in 2022, and although it started slowly with a spate of punctures in Croatia, Loubet has been one of the sensations of the season with two top four results and his first WRC stage wins on Acropolis Rally Greece.
Loubet’s season ended on last weekend’s Rally Spain, although his co-driver Vincent Landais will do Rally Japan alongside eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier.
“I think we did a season with no mistakes, seven races,” Loubet told DirtFish.
“OK, I touched the stone in Estonia, but it was a bit of bad luck, but it’s the only mistake I did so I think for that we can be proud and that’s been that.
“OK it was not just only myself in the past but to go from a driver two [seconds per] kilometer behind to one who can fight for stage wins [is amazing].
“On my side it’s been a terrible year last year. So I’m happy to be back in this situation.”
Asked if he was surprised with just how well it’s gone, Loubet agreed it’s been a big turnaround but pointed to his form in the junior categories that suggested this was always possible.
“If you look at the Škoda years before the WRC I did a very strong season and I knew that I was able to fight sometime with Kalle [Rovanperä], not all the time but sometimes I was able to be not so far,” he explained.
“So I knew that I have the potential so today I have a good car and a great team believe in me and it seems that it’s working.”
Loubet previously told DirtFish that he wanted to do at least 10 rounds next season, but another strong performance on Rally Spain (masked by a puncture and exhaust issue on Friday morning) has convinced him to shoot for a full season next term.
“With M-Sport we found some solution to build something good for next year but my target is to do the championship now, I think I proved that I can have the potential,” Loubet said.
“And if I want to progress and if I want to be one day a top driver I need to do all the rallies.”
