Back-flipping Loeb rolls back the years, grabs eighth Monte Carlo Rally win

Sebastien Loeb

France’s Sebastien Loeb and Isabelle Galmiche of M-Sport Ford World Rally Team in action during the World Rally Championship Monte-Carlo Rally in Monaco. The pair won the rally.

Photo credit: Red Bull

What you need to know:

  • Interestingly, Loeb had just returned from a second place finish in the Dakar Rally that covered over 8,000 kilometres earlier this month and didn’t seem exhausted at all, rolling back the years to floor his much younger rivals.
  • And as if to show age is nothing but a number, Loeb did a backflip celebration at the podium outside the Monte Carlo Casino in front of Prince Albert II, ruler of Monaco, much to the awe of an admiring audience that included his family.

In Monaco

Frenchman Sebastien Loeb, who will be celebrating his 48th birthday next month, became the oldest winner of a World Rally Championship (WRC) round when he overhauled namesake, overnight leader and defending world champion Sebastien Ogier’s advantage to win the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally here Sunday.

M-Sport Ford’s Loeb - navigated by Isabelle Galmiche - who made his WRC debut at the 1999 Catalunya Rally in Spain, chalked up his 80th WRC round victory after cashing in on Ogier’s penultimate stage tribulations to chalk up a 10.5-second victory.

Interestingly, Galmiche became the first female winner of a WRC round since Fabrizia Pons, also a Safari Rally veteran, navigated Piero Liatto to victory in the 1997 Monte Carlo Rally.

The day had started with Toyota GR Yaris’ Ogier enjoying a 21.1-second lead over Loeb and with just two stages to be run twice on the final day, the rally was Ogier’s to lose.

But then the gremlins struck, a front left puncture decimating Ogier’s advantage with Loeb gleefully gobbling up the seconds to reclaim the lead.

Isabelle Galmiche

Isabelle Galmiche of France of team M-Sport Ford World Rally Team seen in the tyre fitting zone during the World Rally Championship Monte Carlo Rally in Monaco. Galmiche became the first female winner of a WRC round since Fabrizia Pons, also a Safari Rally veteran, navigated Piero Liatto to victory in the 1997 Monte Carlo Rally.

Photo credit: Red Bull

Loeb’s advantage was extended following a 10-second penalty on Ogier for jumping the power stage start.

Eight-time champion Loeb then motored his Puma cautiously to claim the first victory of the Hybrid era, his eighth in the principality and 120th WRC podium.

With Ogier settling for second, Loeb’s Ford team-mate, Irishman Craig Breen, took the final podium spot one minute, 19.6 seconds behind the winner, his sixth podium in the WRC.

Interestingly, Loeb had just returned from a second place finish in the Dakar Rally that covered over 8,000 kilometres earlier this month and didn’t seem exhausted at all, rolling back the years to floor his much younger rivals.

And as if to show age is nothing but a number, Loeb did a backflip celebration at the podium outside the Monte Carlo Casino in front of Prince Albert II, ruler of Monaco, much to the awe of an admiring audience that included his family.

 Isabelle Galmiche

France’s Sebastien Loeb and Isabelle Galmiche of M-Sport Ford World Rally Team in action during the World Rally Championship Monte-Carlo Rally in Monaco. The pair won the rally.

Photo credit: Red Bull |

Sunday's two stages (the 19.37-kilometre La Penne-Collongues and 14.26-kilometre Brianconnet-Entrevaux) were run twice with Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera winning the Wolf Power Stage.

“For sure I feel really happy. I didn’t expect so much when I came here. It was a great fight, Ogier was really fast, I struggled a bit yesterday even this morning but at the end,” Loeb said after his victory.

“There was a strange noise on the engine at the start, maybe I was a bit disturbed… I released a little earlier, I don’t know. I think I can keep the head up. To be honest I did the job this weekend but unfortunately with Pirelli when we go in cut it can happen always,” Ogier reacted.

Final positions at the Monte Carlo Rally

1. Loeb/Galmiche (M-Sport Ford) Three hours, 00 minutes, 32.8 seconds;
2. Ogier/Veillas (Toyota) 10.5 seconds behind;
3. Craig Breen/Nagle (M-Sport Ford) +1:39.8;
4. Rovanperä/Halttunen (Toyota) +2:16.2;
5. Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (M-Sport Ford) +6:33.4;
6. Neuville/Waydaeghe (Hyundai) +7:42.6;
7. Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Škoda) +11:33.8;
8. Katsuta/Johnston (Toyota) +12:24.7;
9. Erik Cais/Petr Tesínský (M-Sport Ford) +12:29.2;
10. Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Škoda) +13:41.3.

Championship standings:
1. Loeb 27 points;
2. Ogier 18
3. Rovanperä 17
4. Breen 15
5. Neuville 11
6. Greensmith 10
7. Mikkelsen 6
8. Katsuta 4
9. Evans 4
10. Cais 2

Manufacturers standings:

1. M-Sport Ford 42 points
2. Toyota Gazoo Racing 39
3. Hyundai Motorsport 13
4. Toyota Next Generation 8

WRC2 standings:

1. Mikkelsen 28
2. Cais 19
3 Gryazin 15
4. Gregoire Munster 14
5. Yohan Rossel 13
6. Sean Johnston 12
WRC3 standings:
1. Sami Pajari 29
2. Jan Černý 23   
3. Enrico Brazzoli 18