Loeb on Dakar debut: I’m not here to make up the numbers

Loeb will tackle the legendary South American event for the first time in January, joining an all-star line-up at the factory Peugeot team alongside Carlos Sainz, Stephane Peterhansel and Cyril Despres.

And while he doesn’t necessarily expect to be able to match his more seasoned teammates, Loeb hopes to be able to draw on their experience to be able to be competitive from the outset.

Asked by Motorsport.com about his goals for his first Dakar appearance, the 41-year-old said: “It’s difficult to make predictions. You can perfectly be in the rhythm and lose a lot of time on navigation errors.

“But I’m looking for performance, not just to finish. I’ve no interest in finishing 60th.”

Loeb made his cross-country rally debut in last month’s Rally Morocco, but suffered a mechanical failure on the opening day before rolling his Peugeot 2008 DKR15 twice on the third day.

“In Morocco, we had mechanical problems, navigation problems, driving problems!” admitted Loeb. “It was a lot of difference from one day to another.

“It was good to have this as a test to see all kinds of situations and how to react.

“[Since then] we’ve had a chance to prepare further, to do a bit of navigation and take in some experience. It’s going well, but for sure we don’t have the experience of drivers who’ve done the Dakar for 20 years!”

Lavigne lauds "exceptional" Dakar field

Dakar director Etienne Lavigne is confident Loeb can be competitive in the first week of the rally, but warned that the harsher terrain of the second week could show up his inexperience.

“What I can say for sure is that he will shine in the first week,” said Lavigne. “Although the stages will be longer than what he's used to in his original competition, he can do well in the first week.

“In the second week, he will get into a much more 'Dakar' environment, so to speak – with sand, dunes, obstacles, altitude.

“There are quite a few stages that will be completely new for him, in terms of difficulty.”

Speaking more generally about a field that also includes WRC converts Mikko Hirvonen, Xavier Pons and Martin Prokop, Lavigne added: “It's great to see that melting pot of various experiences, drivers, generations. It's fresh blood in the Dakar field, which will make it more competitive.

“Once again, our field of car drivers is absolutely exceptional this year. I think we have the best drivers of the world in 'traditional' rally and rally-raid, which is very satisfying.”

Leading entries:

No.	Driver	Co-Driver	Car
300	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Matthieu Baumel	Mini
301	Giniel de Villiers	Dirk von Zitzewitz	Toyota
302	Stephane Peterhansel	Jean-Paul Cottret	Peugeot
303	Carlos Sainz	Lucas Cruz	Peugeot
304	Nani Roma	Alexandre Haro	Mini
305	Yazeed Al-Rajhi	Timo Gottschalk	Toyota
306	Erik van Loon	Wouter Rosegaar	Mini
307	Vladimir Vasilyev	Konstantin Zhiltsov	Toyota
308	Christian Lavieille	Jean-Michel Polato	Renault
309	Carlos Sousa	Paulo Fiuza	Mitsubishi
310	Orlando Terranova	Bernardo Graue	Mini
311	Bernhard ten Brinke	Tom Colsoul	Toyota
312	Robby Gordon	Kellon Walch	Gordini
313	Boris Garafulic	Filipe Palmeiro	Mini
314	Sebastien Loeb	Daniel Elena	Peugeot
315	Mikko Hirvonen	Michel Perin	Mini
316	Ronan Chabot	Gilles Pillot	Toyota
317	Emiliano Spataro	Benjamin Lozada	Renault
318	Guilherme Spinelli	Youssef Haddad	Mitsubishi
319	Leeroy Poulter	Robert Howie	Toyota
320	Xavier Pons	Ricardo Torlaschi	Ford
321	Cyril Despres	David Castera	Peugeot
323	Harry Hunt	Andreas Schulz	Mini
325	Adam Malysz	Xavier Panseri	Mini
327	Jakub Przygonski	Andrei Rudnitski	Mini
328	Romain Dumas	Francois Borsotto	Peugeot
329	Martin Prokop	Jan Tomanek	Toyota
331	Stephan Schott	Hold Schmidt	Mini
351	Nazareno Lopes	Sergio Lafuente	Mini
360	Guo Meiling	Liao Min	Mini