Sébastien Loeb just helped Citroën retain its title in Shanghai over the weekend, only to announce after that he will jump next year as well.

Joining the team of Carloz Sainz, Stéphane Peterhansel and Cyril Despres is the man with a 46.2% wins-to-start ratio in WRC and a record run up the mountain at Pikes Peak who also secured a third place in WTTC in his debut year.

The nine-time World Rally Champion will drive with fellow WRC ace Carlos Sainz, starting at next month’s Rallye du Maroc (October 3-9) in Morocco, where he has already tested the car earlier this year. After that, it’s Dakar time for Loeb, who had this to say about his latest adventure:

I only discovered motor sport when I was 18 and I started competing in my first rallies. Since then I have been interested in all types of different motor sports and Dakar is one of them. I think it’s a great challenge to go and compete there and drive in the desert.

The Dakar is completely different from the racing I’m doing at the moment. It will be very long, over two weeks, and you need to have the endurance to look after the driver and the car. It’s another approach to racing but I’ll discover that in January. When I tried the PEUGEOT 2008DKR out in June, what struck me most of all is how the Dakar car was a completely new experience: in the WRC I have been used to going around obstacles, but with this car you can just drive straight over them and it takes some time to have the confidence to believe it!

I’ve also been used to having very detailed pace notes: in Cross Country, you have to find the road for yourself and improvise your route. This is actually the first time I have driven any type of diesel car in competition too. So there is a lot for me to learn, but I am eager to find out more.

If the car is good, you can bet .

This exact X-Raid Mini All4 Racing won the toughest race in the world, the Dakar Rally. It might be

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