Loubet’s new perspective in a similar mission

There’s a definite level of appreciation – an awareness of how important this chance is.

Back in the M-Sport fold – albeit now in a Fiesta Rally2 rather than a Puma Rally1 – Pierre-Louis Loubet has the opportunity to right some wrongs.

By all accounts, it’s clear he’s a very good rally driver. A WRC2 title in 2019 and stage wins at the top of the World Rally Championship didn’t happen by accident.

But would many truly believe that he’s always put his best foot forward? Even Loubet doesn’t.

“I think I had two difficult years,” he tells DirtFish, “but that’s life. I will try to come back and I’m very pleased to be there. I will try really to enjoy and I will see. I have no pressure. The target is just to enjoy and do good results.”

Loubet’s new venture starts with next week’s Rally Portugal, where a new mindset and perspective will be seen in action.

Something to prove?

Loubet’s WRC career has fluctuated over the years; some seasons brilliant (like 2022), others not so brilliant (2021 and 2024 spring to mind).

Last year’s campaign in a Toksport Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 was particularly disastrous, as the Frenchman waded back into WRC2 battle after a near-full season in Rally1 the previous year.

It’s fair to say four retirements (three of them accidents) from five starts was not the impression he hoped to make.

Ask him what went wrong, and the immediate response is: “It’s many things.”

Loubet explains: “I was not really [mentally] back from ’23, I think, where it’s been a bit tough for me. A lot of small things, you know? I did a mistake in Portugal. We had an issue in Sardinia when we were second. In Poland I finished fifth, but we had a puncture. So many small things that made the season go bad.

“I didn’t put it all together to make it well. So from this moment, it’s been difficult because we started the season very well. We won in Qatar, in Aboboreira we were the fastest with the Pirelli tires against a lot of WRC contenders now (examples include Yohan Rossel, Nikolay Gryazin and Rally1 driver Josh McErlean), so… yeah, it’s been like that sometimes. It’s not going in our way.”

Loubet also references the fact his 2023 season as M-Sport team-mate to Ott Tänak didn’t go to plan either. One factor he mentions is the change of co-driver unsettling him a bit, with Vincent Landais shifting to partner Sébastien Ogier, but he’s also aware he just didn’t string things together when he needed to.

He says: “There is nothing to blame. You know, it’s not the career of some other guys or it’s not the fault of the other. Maybe if I had to be more clever in some moment, if I managed to work better, my co-driver changements, stuff like that, I was able to do a bit more.

“Maybe it’s a bit more my fault. I didn’t very well manage the co-pilot changements, especially at this moment. Everything was working so well in 2022 with everything, so it’s been a big hit.”

The past is the past, but as he readies himself for another WRC tilt, a clear question does linger.

Does Loubet have something to prove?

“Prove? I don’t know. We always have to prove [something], especially when you still don’t have a WRC podium,” he responds.

“I missed sometimes one or two WRC podiums where maybe I was able to change a bit my career. I think of Greece, Sardinia in 2022 or Chile when I crashed. There are many moments where I was able to prove that it’s OK, the performance is there, but I didn’t make it [into a result].

“So, yeah, [there’s] always a bit to prove, but I mean, I take it differently and I know that first I need to really enjoy. It’s nice to be back in WRC. And it’s when you aren’t there that you are missing it so much. So I’m very pleased to be able to come back.”

Coming back home

2C Compétition was the team that propelled Loubet to his WRC2 title in a Fabia Rally2 evo, and then brought him into the top class in a Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC.

But M-Sport is a team that feels like home to Loubet. He says he and the team have always stayed in contact, but a deal started to become serious in late February / early March.

“It’s a good moment to go back with M-Sport,” Loubet smiles. “I’m very, very, very pleased.

“There is a lot of people I know and everybody was so nice to welcome me back. It was honestly a good moment and pleased with the people around. All very, very nice.”

The atmosphere may be familiar but the car is new, so what are Loubet’s initial impressions of his new steed?

“I tried it in England one time already on the test day, so no, it’s been very, very, very fine,” he says. “I would say that I need to adapt a little bit my driving style because it’s quite different from what I drove. But it was very, very nice.

“I don’t know how it will be on the WRC event, but yeah, on the stage like I drove, it was fine.”

Loubet will team up with reigning Junior WRC champion Romet Jürgenson as part of a two-car M-Sport team.

“I saw that the car was performing well with Adrian [Fourmaux] in 2023,” Loubet adds. “I think last year in Portugal with the Škoda, if I don’t have my time penalty on the first stage, I was fighting for first before we crash, so I really don’t know [what to expect].

“That will depend on the feeling, on a lot of things, but I’m pretty confident that it can be possible to do a good result if we are clever. The target will be first to do good results and we will see how the season is going.”

The Rally1 dream

Like so many of his peers competing in the Rally2 class, Loubet’s goal is to be in a Rally1 car – in his case, again.

But he’s learned not to put any pressure on himself. Now a father and with a renewed desire to compete after a nine-month layoff from WRC competition, the Frenchman is ready to take whatever comes.

“I think that I’m in a really good place today and I have everything to enjoy as maximum as I can, and who knows what will happen in a few years,” he ponders.

“Until you are in the circus, everything is possible, so I will do my best, focusing on what I have to do in the Rally2. And for sure, my ultimate target is to be able to be back [in Rally1].

“I know that I have shown some very good speed in the past, I just need to put it all together.

“In ’23, I think I really missed the opportunity to stay in WRC for a long time. It was a big chance that I missed, so I don’t want to miss this opportunity again.”