Sebastien Loeb receives Abu Dhabi Spirit of the Rally

With victory on Rally Sardinia taking Sebastien Loeb to 40 World Rally Championship wins - and making him the first driver in the history of the sport to reach the milestone - the Frenchman has now added an ‘Abu Dhabi Spirit of the Rally’ award to his trophy collection.

In his seventh year as a full-time manufacturers’ driver, Loeb has now amassed a staggering 40 career victories - starting in 2002’s Rally Germany - and collected four World Championships along the way.

“Reaching forty rally victories is a beautiful achievement for me and I’d like to thank Daniel (Elena, Loeb’s co-driver), the Citroen team and all my fans for their support,” said the Frenchman. II’d also like to thank my new friends at Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority for giving me this wonderful award, it is a great honour.”

“In presenting this award to Sebastien Loeb, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority is recognising his unrivalled contribution to the world of rally,” said Ahmed Hussein, Deputy Director General of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.

“Sebastien’s virtuoso driving displays - right through his career - have rightly established him as one of the sport’s true legends and the WRC’s most feared and respected current competitor. He has consistently demonstrated the values which Abu Dhabi stands for and will no doubt be a principle contender for a fifth World Championship come the end of the season.”