Rally legend Sebastien Loeb joins Peugeot-Total 'Dream Team' for Dakar

Sebastien Loeb, the greatest rally driver ever, will take on one of the biggest challenges of his illustrious career when he lines up as part of Peugeot's 'Dream Team' at the legendary Dakar rally in January.

The nine-time World Rally Championship (WRC) champion and Pikes Peak record-holder will line up alongside Carlos Sainz for next month's Morocco Rally, before heading to Argentina and Bolivia to take on the sport's toughest challenge - the Dakar. Joining them in South America will be Stephane Peterhansel and Cyril Despres, completing Team Peugeot-Total's Dream Team driver lineup.

Loeb, one of the most successful drivers in the history of motor sport with an unprecedented 46.2 percent wins-to-start ratio in WRC, said, "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," he added.

Peugeot Sport Director Bruno Famin commented, "Sebastien was impressive from the moment he first sat in the car, as we knew would be the case after having had the privilege of working with him before. He took his usual measured approached to understand the car step by step: from there his natural ability took over. Having improved the car in several different areas since we were last at the Dakar, the signing of Sebastien Loeb is the final piece in the jigsaw."