Not for being expected, the confirmation has been less satisfactory for the followers of the WRC. After achieving his eightieth victory in the World Rally Championship, Sébastien Loeb will return to the controls of one of M-Sport’s Ford Puma Rally1 cars in Portugal. The French star will make the Portuguese country his second home, since in a matter of weeks will debut in the DTM in Portimao and will compete in the Portuguese round of the WRCtest that takes place on the gravel stages around Porto between May 19 and 22.
Loeb’s participation in the Rally de Portugal will mean that the Frenchman dispute his first event on land at the controls of the ‘Rally1’ of the structure directed by Richard Millener. For Sébastien it will be the opportunity to continue increasing his record in the WRC at the wheel of a Ford Puma that has yet to prove his competitiveness on gravel. Isabelle Galmiche is expected to return as Loeb’s co-driver after achieving victory together in January at the Monte Carlo Rally.
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The presence of Sébastien Loeb in the Portuguese stages will cause M-Sport executes its most ambitious bet so far this seasonas up to five units of the Ford Puma Rally1 are expected to be in action. Craig Breen, Gus Greensmith and Adrien Fourmaux retain their site within the fixed M-Sport lineup, while Pierre-Louis Loubet will also be on the Portuguese stages within his partial program of seven tests that he has closed with the Cumbrian team.
sebastien loeb He assured regarding his participation in Portugal: «Driving the Ford Puma Rally1 is already among my favorite memories, since I was able to win the Monte Carlo Rally after a long time. The team did a great jobThey quickly solved the difficulties we encountered and that allowed me to get my eightieth win. I competed in this version of the Rally de Portugal in 2019, so I have a base for some stretches. That is one of the reasons why I have chosen Portugal. The other is that I wanted to do a dirt rally, so the choice was easy.».
If all goes according to plan, the Rally de Portugal will also serve to see a new round of the duel between Sébastien Loeb and his namesake Sébastien Ogier. The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver also has the Portuguese event on his agenda and it only seems a matter of time before he confirms his presence on the stages in the neighboring country. The duel will be reissued in this way, although in this case on land, which was already experienced at the Monte Carlo Rally and that ended with victory for Loeb and M-Sport.
Photos: Red Bull Content Pool