Frenchman Sebastien Loeb holds the cup as he wins the ADACRally Germany for the eighth time in a row in Trier, Germany on Sunday.

www.topix.net | 8/24/10 3:13 AM

France's Sebastien Loeb won a record eighth straight German rally on Sunday, moving closer to claiming his seventh consecutive world title.

www.topix.net | 8/22/10 10:52 PM

This was Loeb's 59th world championship win and his eighth in a row at the German rally. www.dnaindia.com | 8/22/10 1:06 PM

Defending champion Sebastien Loeb claimed his eighth consecutive victory in the Rally of Germany after finishing ahead of teammate Dani Sordo of Spain and fellow Frenchman Sebastien Ogier. www.france24.com | 8/22/10 12:07 PM

World champion Sebastien Loeb tightened his grip on the German Rally by extending his lead to more than half a minute today tvnz.co.nz | 8/21/10 9:06 PM

BERLIN (Reuters) - World champion Sebastien Loeb snatched a lead of 9.5 seconds after the first day of the German Rally on Friday. The 36-year-old Citroen driver, chasing his seventh title in a row, ... story.venezuelastar.com | 8/20/10 7:55 PM

BERLIN (Reuters) - World champion Sebastien Loeb snatched a lead of 9.5 seconds after the first day of the German Rally on Friday. www.nytimes.com | 8/20/10 7:10 PM

Sebastien Loeb is out to enhance his impressive record in the Rally of Germany, lining up unbeaten after seven consecutive wins on the tarmac circuit in the Moselle valley.

www.topix.net | 8/20/10 9:10 AM

Norway's Petter Solberg has taken the first stage of the Rally Finland ahead of Finland's Mikko Hirvonen and six-time world champion Sebastien Loeb of France.Solberg, the 2003 world champion, covered ... story.venezuelastar.com | 7/30/10 2:31 AM

JYVASKYLA, Finland (AP) — Norway's Petter Solberg has taken the first stage of the Rally Finland ahead of Finland's Mikko Hirvonen and six-time world champion Sebastien Loeb of France. story.venezuelastar.com | 7/29/10 9:26 PM

Filed under: Motorsports, Performance, Europe, Videos, Hatchback, Ford, Racing

Our collective blogging heart goes out to Mikko Hirvonen. It's a shame to see a driver with galaxies worth of talent constantly banished to the lower rungs of the podium by the likes of Sebastien Loeb . Perpetually optimistic, the Finnish hoon seems to be a rarity among the racing driver species. Even in the face of repeated defeat, the guy typically keeps his cool and hopes for the best. That doesn't necessarily mean he's content to sit back and watch Citroën continue to dominate the WRC and Hirvonen has been beating the life out of his Focus RS racer in preparation for the upcoming Finland Rally.

Fortunately for us, a video of the testing action has made its way to the YouTubes, complete with plenty of shots of the mean Blue Oval in defiance of the laws of gravity. At some point, if we're very lucky, we just might figure out how the guy manages to get that hatch to pivot mid-air. Click past the jump to waste a little time in the best way possible.

[Source: YouTube via WebRidesTV ]

Continue reading Video: Mikko Hirvonen tests WRC Ford Focus, enters low orbit

Video: Mikko Hirvonen tests WRC Ford Focus, enters low orbit originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink  | Email this  | Comments www.autoblog.com | 7/24/10 1:02 AM

Reigning world champion Sebastien Loeb of France led Citroen to an historic top four in the inaugural Rally of Bulgaria in Borovets on Sunday. Loeb, who topped the standings since Friday's opening session, beat teammates Spanish runner-up Dani Sordo, Norway's Petter Solberg and fellow countryman Sebastien Ogier on his favoured asphalt tarmac surface. "A perfect rally," said Loeb. "Four Citroens on front, it's remarkable. I was pleasantly surprised. Since 2006 we haven't lost a rall ... english.people.com.cn | 7/12/10 9:09 AM

With a win in Bulgaria, Sebastien Loeb is now the favorite to win the WRC season title.

www.topix.net | 7/11/10 8:59 PM

Citroen's world champion Sebastien Loeb increased his lead on the second day of the Rally Bulgaria on Sunday tvnz.co.nz | 7/10/10 8:53 PM

BOROVETS, Bulgaria (Reuters) - Sebastien Loeb continued his brilliant run in the World Rally Championship (WRC), building up a lead of almost half a minute by winning all four stages on Friday's first day of the Rally Bulgaria. www.nytimes.com | 7/9/10 4:10 PM

&$ &$ French driver Sebastien Loeb and co-pilot Daniel Elena drive their Citroen C4 WRC on the first day of the WRC rally Bulgaria near Batak dam, some 143km from Sofia, capital of Bulgaria, July 9, 2010. (Xinhua/Velko Angelov) &$ 【1】 【2 ... english.people.com.cn | 7/9/10 2:41 AM

Citroen's Sebastien Loeb previews the inaugural Rally Bulgaria and talks about his targets as he looks to extend his 38-point lead in the battle for the 2010 WRC drivers' title.

www.topix.net | 7/6/10 8:52 PM

Sebastien Loeb of France in his Citroen C4 WRC during the shakedown of the Turkish Rally 2010, Istanbul, Turkey, 15 April 2010.

www.topix.net | 7/3/10 11:15 PM

Sebastien Loeb of France in his Citroen C4 WRC during the shakedown of the Turkish Rally 2010, Istanbul, Turkey, 15 April 2010.

www.topix.net | 7/3/10 3:51 PM

Sebastien Loeb of France in his Citroen C4 WRC during the shakedown of the Turkish Rally 2010, Istanbul, Turkey, 15 April 2010. Photo by EPA/BGNES story.venezuelastar.com | 7/3/10 3:48 PM

French driver Sebastien Ogier survived a final-day attack from compatriot Sebastien Loeb to post his first world championship win at the Rally of Portugal tvnz.co.nz | 5/30/10 9:27 PM

LISBON (Reuters) - French driver Sebastien Ogier survived a final-day attack from compatriot Sebastien Loeb to post his first world championship win at the Rally of Portugal on Sunday. www.nytimes.com | 5/30/10 3:50 PM

French driver Sebastien Ogier held on to the Rally of Portugal lead on Sunday but with Sebastien Loeb closing in behind him he has plenty of work to do on the final day to seal a first victory tvnz.co.nz | 5/29/10 10:53 PM

The result of Rally New Zealand was thrown wide open early today after six-time world champion Sebastien Loeb had a mishap on the second stage on the morning. tvnz.co.nz | 5/8/10 10:27 PM

Sebastien Loeb fought back from a crash on the opening day of Rally New Zealand on Friday, but will have his work cut out to extend his winning run tvnz.co.nz | 5/7/10 9:02 AM

Citroen's world champion Sebastien Loeb will take a 16.2 second advantage into the final day of the Rally of Turkey after vaulting into the lead on Sunday tvnz.co.nz | 4/17/10 8:56 PM

Citroen’s six-time world champion Sebastien Loeb claimed his second win of the season Saturday, cruising to victory in the Rally of Jordan ahead of Finland's Jari-Matti Latvala and extending his lead in the overall standings. www.france24.com | 4/3/10 3:05 PM

The Frenchman, taking his 56th win at world championship level, finished 35.8 seconds ahead of Finland's Jari-Matti Latvala in a Ford. www.dnaindia.com | 4/3/10 2:47 PM

Rally of Jordan second leg classification on Saturday. 1. Sebastien Loeb (France) Citroen 2hrs 41mins 06.700secs 2. Sebastien Ogier (France) Citroen 00:24.600 3. Jari-Matti Latvala (Finland) Ford 00:27.700 4. Petter Solberg (Norway) Citroen 00:43.200 5. Daniel Sordo (Spain) Citroen 00:48.800 6. Matthew Wilson (Britain) Ford 05:05.700 7. Federico Villagra (Argentina) Ford 06:51.000 8. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Citroen 08:09.000 9. Henning Solberg (Norway) Ford 10:04.000 10. Xavier Pons (Spain) Ford 10:17.700 tvnz.co.nz | 4/2/10 9:23 PM

AMMAN (Reuters) - Citroen's world champion Sebastien Loeb ended the penultimate leg of the Rally of Jordan with a 24.6 second lead and title rival Mikko Hirvonen's hopes in tatters Friday. With Hirvo... story.venezuelastar.com | 4/2/10 5:10 PM

AMMAN (Reuters) - Citroen's world champion Sebastien Loeb ended the penultimate leg of the Rally of Jordan with a 24.6 second lead and title rival Mikko Hirvonen's hopes in tatters Friday. www.nytimes.com | 4/2/10 4:50 PM

Sebastien Loeb, driving a Citroen C4, has won the 2010 Mexican rally, his 55th career World Rally championship victory. It was the World champion's fourth win in Mexico following triumphs in story.venezuelastar.com | 3/8/10 6:06 AM

France's Sebastien Loeb raced into first place at the Rally of Mexico Sunday. Driving a Citroen C4, Loeb simultaneously snatched up his 55th world championship victory, not to mention his fourth win in Mexico. www.france24.com | 3/7/10 9:23 PM

France's Sebastien Loeb, driving a Citroen C4, won the Rally of Mexico on Sunday, his 55th career World Rally Championship victory. It was the world champion's fourth win in Mexico following triumphs... story.venezuelastar.com | 3/7/10 9:13 PM

ON WAY TO A WIN: Sebastien Loeb of France in his Citroen C4 during the second day of the 2010 World Rally championship around Leon in Mexico on March 6, 2010. Image: AFP story.venezuelastar.com | 3/7/10 6:44 AM

Finland's Mikko Hirvonen beat the reigning world champion, Frenchman Sebastien Loeb, to win the Rally of Sweden in Värmland on Sunday. www.thelocal.se | 2/15/10 10:40 AM

The World Rally Championships returns to Sweden on Friday after a two-year long hiatus. Defending champion Sebastien Loeb says he is looking forward to racing in the snow. www.thelocal.se | 2/11/10 10:50 AM

Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen embarks on a new career in the World Rally Championship this weekend but the Finn is under no illusions. www.dnaindia.com | 2/10/10 9:21 AM

Filed under: Spy Photos, Performance, Geneva Motor Show, Europe, Hatchback, Citroën

Think of a road-ready rally machine, and what pops into your head? Likely the Subaru Impreza WRX STI or Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, right? Well Subaru hasn't won the World Rally Championship in seven years, Mitsubishi in eleven. In fact, neither is even trying anymore: Both have withdrawn from the championship. No, that territory is Citroen 's to claim. The French automaker (with its star driver Sebastien Loeb) have been the reigning champs since 2004, but Citroen hasn't really capitalized on its gravel-drifting prowess with anything even approaching what of the WRX and Evo. Until now.

Although the current C4 Loeb has won the past three world rally championships in remains in active duty for another season - with former F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen taking the wheel in the junior team - after that the new rally-spec DS3 (previewed in a batch of spy shots a few months ago) will take its place. From the looks of things, however, Citroen isn't waiting around for the DS3 to match the C4's dominance before they roll out the street version.

Following an earlier report last month hinting at the hot DS3's arrival, a handful of photos showing what insiders suggest is the finished product have leaked onto the interwebs. Brought to us by our compadres over at Autoblog Spanish, these shots were recently confirmed as the real deal (and not as photochops as originally suspected) when the same car showed up in other images released (and since retracted) by the factory.

The car pictured features wider wheel flarings housing bigger hoops and riding on a dropped suspension. Sources peg it at 15 millimeters stouter than stock, with NAFTA four-pot brakes front and rear. Under the hood, the 1.6-liter turbo four is tipped to produce between 200 and 210 horsepower, driving through a six-speed manual (the jury's still out on the presence of a limited-slip differential) and likely to the front wheels to propel the DS3 Racing to 62 mph in 6.8 seconds. The Halloween livery may be a love-it-or-hate-it affair, but this is likely what we'll see, if the reports prove accurate at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show . For our part, we'll take ours in deep blue, with a big red leaping bull on the side and our names printed above the doors.



[Source: Autoblog Spanish ]

Leakage: Citroen DS3-R heading to Geneva? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read  | Permalink  | Email this  | Comments www.autoblog.com | 2/8/10 9:01 PM

Castrol Oil has created a rating list of the world's greatest racing drivers. At the moment, the No. 1 is Jenson Button, edging out Sebastian Vettel and with Sebastien Loeb in third. Nice to see that of all the top series in the world, Castrol rates the F1 drivers as the tops of the tops. Normal, F1 is the pinnacle. Still, is Button really the best of the best? He'd almost been considered a has-been until this last season when the Brawn car just dominated at the start of the year. Let's see how he does against Lewis Hamilton next year at McLaren....

Button Best of the Best in Castrol Ratings originally appeared on About.com Formula 1 on Thursday, January 14th, 2010 at 07:33:45.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

formula1.about.com | 1/14/10 7:33 AM

Thierry Henry's notorious handball offence against Ireland has done little to diminish his popularity among French sports fans.

The Barcelona striker placed third in L'Equipe's annual poll of the nation's favourite sportsmen and women behind rugby player Sebastien Chabal and world rally champion Sebastien Loeb.

That did represent a fall in his popularity from November, 2008 when he topped the poll, but the furore that followed the Irish game could have been expected to hit him harder.

www.france24.com | 1/2/10 11:45 AM

Filed under: Motorsports, Citroën

Kimi Räikkönen is now a WRC driver. The Flying Finn will pilot one of two Citroën CR4 Junior Team cars with Kaj Lindström as his co-driver. It's been in the works for a while, and from the sounds of it, no one appears to have any doubts that Raikkonen will do well there. Team boss Olivier Quesnel rates the ex-Ferrari pilot highly , saying, "What he did there in a S2000 was amazing," when speaking of Kimi's run in an Abarth in a Finnish rally earlier this year.

Even 2003 WRC title winner Petter Solberg puts Kimi in with a shout , commenting, "If he's in a decent World Rally Car next season I think he could finish between third and fifth on some rallies." This will put four Citroën cars in next year's Championship, with returning title winners Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, Dani Sordo and Marc Marti, plus the junior cars of Räikkönen/Lindström and Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia. You can check out Citroën's official release after the jump.

[Source: Citroën]

Continue reading Umlautfest: Kimi Räikkönen signs with Citroën Red Bull rally team

Umlautfest: Kimi Räikkönen signs with Citroën Red Bull rally team originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink  | Email this  | Comments www.autoblog.com | 12/5/09 8:22 PM

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Renault, Citroën

It used to be that a racing driver would pick his form of motorsport at the beginning of his career and stick with it for the duration. Sure, there have been a few notable exceptions - especially among the Finns - but these days, it seems as if the exceptions are gaining on the norm. F1 drivers like Juan Pablo Montoya are moving to NASCAR, WRC aces like Sebastien Loeb and MotoGP champs like Valentio Rossi are trying their hand at F1, while F1 champs like Michael Schumacher are checking out motorbike racing. But the latest trend has a growing number of current, active Formula One drivers contesting rallies on the world stage.

The most notable is Kimi Raikkonen, who has driven a few rallies behind the wheel of his own Punto Abarth. Now that he's looking to sit out of the next F1 season , all indications are that the departing Ferrari driver will find his way into the WRC. While downplaying the lingering prospect of the 2007 Formula One champion racing for the newly-christened Mercedes Grand Prix team next season, his managers are reportedly hard at work to get him a WRC drive for 2010. The most likely scenario would place Raikkonen with Citroen: Both the French rally team and the Finnish driver are sponsored by Red Bull, and the rapprochement could could pave the way for Kimi to return to F1 in 2011 for Red Bull Racing.

Even Red Bull's current F1 ace, Sebastian Vettel, has reportedly expressed interest in trying his hand at rallying, although his team principal is reportedly against the idea. After winning the Nations Cup at the Race of Champions together with Schumacher three years running, the young German has certainly demonstrated the versatility of his talent.

Meanwhile, the highly-rated Robert Kubica is preparing for his second rally since leaving BMW Sauber for the Renault F1 team . After a dismal first attempt, the Pole is set to return to the wheel of a Renaultsport Clio R3 Maxi for the final round of the French Rally Championship at Var next weekend. If Kubica manages to finish this time around, we could yet see more F1 drivers following him onto the rally scene.

[Sources: Autosport and F1-Live | Image: Clive Mason/Getty]

Universal Soldiers: F1 aces Raikkonen, Vettel and Kubica lured by rallying originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read  | Permalink  | Email this  | Comments www.autoblog.com | 11/22/09 8:03 PM

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs

What do you do after making it to the pinnacle of rallying and winning a record-shattering six consecutive world championships ? Anything you want - or so you'd think - but Sebastien Loeb is running into some roadblocks that appear to have derailed his plans to try his hand at Formula One.

The French rally ace who recently secured his sixth WRC title in a row was tipped to potentially drive for Scuderia Toro Rosso at the upcoming F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi. Considering that the team is owned by the same company that sponsors Loeb's Citroën rally car, and that the outfit seems to almost exclusively employ drivers named Sebastien (to say nothing of the championship already having concluded), it all seemed entirely likely. But despite having participated in a number of test sessions , the FIA has reportedly deemed the 35-year-old driver unsuitable for F1 racing, refusing to grant him the Superlicense needed to compete.

So what's next on Loeb's plate? Although he's recently been linked with a drive for USF1 , Loeb realizes he probably won't get another shot at F1 at this point in his career. But he isn't done with circuit racing altogether. Having scored an impressive podium finish at Le Mans in 2006 for the Pescarolo team and tested the Peugeot 908 LMP1 (run by the same automaker as his rally team) a couple of times already, the champ is looking at potentially joining the Peugeot Le Mans team again in the near future.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Mark Thompson/Getty/Red Bull Racing]

Next Stop, Le Mans: FIA reportedly puts the brakes on Sebastien Loeb's grand prix debut originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read  | Permalink  | Email this  | Comments www.autoblog.com | 10/27/09 10:22 PM

Cardiff - Sebastien Loeb of France won the Rally of Great Britain on Sunday to capture a sixth www.monstersandcritics.com | 10/25/09 11:54 PM

Citroen driver Sebastien Loeb won the Rally of Great Britain in Wales to clinch the World Rally championship for the sixth straight year.

www.topix.net | 10/25/09 8:01 PM

Filed under: Motorsports, UK

Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes an exciting season in motorsport. For some, it's witnessing the dominant driver shatter records while sailing to one victory after another. For others, it's the down-to-the-wire action that leaves championships undecided until the very last minute.

For decades, Formula One was dominated by the same few teams - Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and Benetton/Renault - winning the title every year until Jenson Button and Brawn GP broke the cycle this season. On the other end of the spectrum, French rally ace Sebastien Loeb has been dominating the World Rally Championship with Citroen for the past five years. But as this year's championship drifted 'round the corner to its final round in Great Britain this weekend, the title remained up for grabs. Follow the jump to read how it unfolded.

Continue reading SPOILER ALERT: 2009 World Rally Championship decided at Rally Great Britain

SPOILER ALERT: 2009 World Rally Championship decided at Rally Great Britain originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink  | Email this  | Comments www.autoblog.com | 10/25/09 6:58 PM

France's Sebastien Loeb claims a record sixth successive world rally title with victory at the Rally GB. news.bbc.co.uk | 10/25/09 2:34 PM

Citroen's Sebastien Loeb took his sixth successive World Rally Championship title with a final win in the Rally of Great Britain ahead of Finnish rival Mikko Hirvonen (Ford). www.france24.com | 10/25/09 2:15 PM

Oct.22 Sebastien Loeb has admitted the opportunity of making his formula one debut in Abu Dhabi was probably a one-off. The multiple champion of world rallying had hoped to race for Toro Rosso in the 2009 season finale, but was not granted a mandatory Super License by the governing FIA.

www.topix.net | 10/25/09 1:28 AM