With a steering wheel in his hands, he tried everything and (almost) won everything, including 9 World Rally Championship titles.
He has nothing more to prove.
But one challenge still escapes him: the Dakar, which sets off this Sunday on the tracks of the sandy deserts of Saudi Arabia.
Sébastien Loeb has still not won the most famous of rally-raids.
The Alsatian has already tried his luck four times between 2016 and 2019, when the race was still taking place in South America.
He finished second in 2017
In 2017, the driver finished second, then third in 2019. He had made the deadlock a year ago, preferring to devote himself to the Monte-Carlo rally.
Carlos Sainz's victory in Saudi Arabia at the start of 2020, on a course cut out for the top WRC players, no doubt gave him some regrets.
Enough in any case for him to decide to come back: "The adventure side of the Dakar has always pleased me because we cross unique and magnificent landscapes," confides the pilot, who sets off behind the wheel of a 4 x 4 prototype. Prodrive called "Hunter" for the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team.
Pushing the car for hours on end in such incredible places doesn't exist anywhere else.
Suddenly, we say to ourselves a little "
what are we doing here, what a pain!"
But in the end, we only remember the good times.
"
Bahrain Raid Xtreme driver @SebastienLoeb is getting final preparations underway #BRX # Dakar2021 💪👊 https://t.co/0ngRyXRMVQ
- Bahrain Raid Xtreme (@BRaidXtreme) December 31, 2020
Only, when your name is Sébastien Loeb, you never take the wheel for sightseeing: “Of course, I'm coming back to join in the fight among the 'top drivers'.
I'm first and foremost a competitor, that's the goal, but I have lots of new things to discover: the car, the course in Arabia, the regulations.
I hope to adapt to all of this very quickly.
I have good feelings before the start, we'll see.
"
“He's fast and has experience,” warns Peterhansel
On his fifth attempt, the Alsatian, still supported by Daniel Elena, can he win the Dakar and become a little more legendary for pilots?
Not that easy.
All Sébastien Loeb that he is, with his track record as long as his arm, the Frenchman does not land on the starting line in Jeddah on conquered ground.
The Dakar has to be earned and being one of the best drivers in history is not enough: “Of course Seb is one of the favorites in the race, insists Stéphane Peterhansel, the man with 13 victories.
He is fast and skillful, that we all know.
He now has the experience of this very special race, which is essential.
But there are five or six drivers who have identical qualities and who can just as easily win.
I include myself in it, of course.
"
"It's discovery, it's adventure"
🔜 Coming soon ... ⏳ # Dakar2021 pic.twitter.com/q2t8Aykv3R
- DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) December 29, 2020
Three-time Dakar winner and title holder after also winning two WRC world championship titles, Carlos Sainz is undoubtedly Loeb's benchmark in the field.
His opinion is enlightening: “To win the Dakar, being a very good driver is not enough,” notes the Spaniard.
You also need a very good car, an excellent crew, a strong engine, excellent assistance and also luck.
This is what makes it so charming.
“With the year that we've all just passed through, we're all lucky to be there at the start.
And it is already our greatest victory to all ”underlines the triple Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota).