Why Loeb v Ogier duel gave the WRC's new hybrid era the ideal start

“I think this was one the fans could really enjoy – both of us, Seb and me – we felt that support this weekend. It was really enjoyable and a good show for the sport.”

Those are the words of eight-time world champion Sebastien Ogier after coming up short to nine-time world champion Sebastien Loeb in Monte Carlo, following arguably the best duel in the World Rally Championship's recent history. Ogier’s comments sum up last weekend perfectly.

Loeb versus Ogier made the Monte Carlo Rally compelling viewing and impossible to ignore. It was a fight rally fans have for years been eager to see more frequently, with the two heavyweights of the 21st century WRC both laying claims to be the greatest of all time. Sadly the careers of these two legends have largely overlapped, meaning they’ve crossed swords on only a few occasions. The last time they did so with any regularity was in 2011 when team-mates at Citroen, Loeb at the peak of his powers facing off against a young gun who had yet to win any of his world titles.

What played out in Monte Carlo was a battle for the ages packed with drama as the lead between Ogier and Loeb changed hands three times across four days. Not only did the Sebastiens go toe-to-toe trading fastest stage times, six to five in Loeb’s favour, but there was also a late twist to this enthralling drama. A puncture on Ogier's Toyota in the penultimate stage handed his M-Sport Ford rival the lead, setting up a final stage shootout.

Rubbishing the doubters who had questioned the 47-year-old’s ability to still be competitive, two years after his last WRC start in Turkey 2020, Loeb proved that class is permanent and held on to take his record-extending 80th WRC victory by 10.5 seconds, after Ogier received a 10s jump start penalty in the final stage.

PLUS: How Monte masters stole the show as WRC's hybrid era blasted off

To add the cherry to the top of this WRC fairytale, Loeb was partnered by a new co-driver in Isabelle Galmiche, making her WRC debut aged 50 in the seat that for so long was reserved for Loeb's long-time partner Daniel Elena. Galmiche, a maths teacher by trade, became the first woman since the 1997 Monte when Fabrizia Pons partnered Subaru’s Piero Liatti to win a WRC round outright.

Co-driver Galmiche's debut win alongside Loeb added to the feel-good factor of the weekend

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

It was one those scripts that even the very best screenwriter would have been proud of. It was a feel-good story of the kind that has been lacking in motorsport recently, a battle of two all-time greats that should be lauded and applauded - especially if it turns out to be the last time we ever see the heavyweight pair do battle for victory again.

It somewhat overshadowed the excitement surrounding the all-new 500 horsepower hybrid Rally1 machines, but it also elevated the WRC to a point of visibility it has perhaps lacked in recent times. On Sunday “Loeb” was trending on Twitter in the UK and the event lit up social media globally - awakening not just bobblehat rally fans, but the wider motorsport-loving community starved of action during the winter.

The battle at the front ensured valuable attention on the WRC's product at a time when it is striving to embrace a more environmentally-friendly future, and trying to entice more manufacturers

In short, it was exactly what the WRC needed for the launch of if its new era. When reflecting on the debut of its new hybrid Rally1 rules shake up, it will forever be associated with one of motorsport’s great head-to-heads. For the WRC that’s a huge victory - especially given the lingering scepticism from some quarters who feared that Rally1 cars wouldn’t live up to the spectacular aero-dependent and active differential monsters that went before them.

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They needn't have worried anyway. The new cars were still spectacular to watch, especially with boost mode engaged. Only Hyundai was affected by reliability issues that ruined its season opener. But importantly when all three brands were firing, the competition was close.

Although there is perhaps more work required to explain when and where the drivers are using their hybrid boost to further fans' understanding of the complicated new system, the battle at the front ensured valuable attention on the WRC's product at a time when it is striving to embrace a more environmentally-friendly future, and trying to entice more manufacturers.

There is an argument to be made that two part-time, semi-retired drivers dominating an event is not a good look for the championship or its current crop of full-time younger drivers. However, there are several mitigating factors to be considered here.

Firstly, the young talent is most definitely present. This changing of the guard began last season, with Kalle Rovanpera becoming the WRC's youngest-ever winner in Estonia. The 21-year-old Toyota driver is touted as a future star and demonstrated why by following his Estonia breakthrough with a dominant display on his first attempt at the notoriously tricky Acropolis Rally.

Ogier and new co-driver Benjamin Veillas were denied only by a puncture on the penultimate stage

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans (33) pushed Ogier to the very limit in the world championship for last two years, only to be edged at the last. Hyundai's Ott Tanak (34) managed to halt Ogier's streak of championship titles in 2019 while driving for Toyota and is the only driver of the current crop to have beaten him over a full season since his streak of titles began with Volkswagen in 2013. Fellow Hyundai man Thierry Neuville (33) has finished runner-up five times in the championship and in 2020 became one of only two drivers since 2002 other than Loeb or Ogier (the other being Marcus Gronholm, on his Ford debut in 2006) to win the Monte (discounting the three-year stint between 2009 and 2011 when it wasn't part of the WRC).

The talent is there, so why weren’t they closer to Loeb and Ogier in Monte Carlo? Neuville and Tanak simply didn’t have the car to compete with the Toyota and M-Sport's Puma and were out of contention early on. Neuville was the only Hyundai to reach the finish, in sixth.

Evans was sitting third, within striking distance of the lead only 9.3s behind, when contact with a bank on Stage 11 left his GR Yaris perched precariously over a steep slope and ended his podium hopes. Rovanpera beat Loeb and Ogier to win three stages once he’d found his rhythm, but his confidence in the new GR Yaris came too late to contend for anything more than fourth. M-Sport’s Craig Breen beat him to third, but was some 1m39s adrift having prioritised banking championship points on an event he last contested in 2018.

Perhaps the overriding reason why Loeb and Ogier were a cut above the rest boils down to the fact that, aside from their sheer skill, the pair know the winding Monte Carlo roads better than anybody else. It’s a specialist event and there is good reason why few have been able to muscle in on an event the French pair have now won 16 times between them.

It’s also pertinent to mention the Sebastiens didn’t have the added pressure of a title to fight for, both contending part-time programmes that meant unlike their contemporaries they could go for broke in pursuit of victory. The next generation will have their time in the sun in Monte Carlo, but on this occasion it was perhaps always going to be a tough ask to beat the old masters.

Their duel has thrust the WRC firmly back into the consciousness of motorsport fans. And while there won’t be a Loeb v Ogier part deux in Sweden next month, the excitement created by Monte Carlo should now carry the new hybrid era as it continues its most unpredictable season for decades.

Ogier congratulates Loeb on his victory, the first of the WRC's hybrid era

Photo by: M-Sport