Loubet was involved in a collision with a car in Paris last October and sustained a broken hip. He returned to competitive driving at last weekend’s Isola 2000 Andros Trophy round in France, finishing 12th.
The former WRC2 champion parted company with 2C Compétition - the team which ran him in a Hyundai i20 Coupe World Rally Car for the past two years - at the end of last season and is now chasing a new seat for 2022.
Having skipped WRC rounds in Spain and Italy at the end of last year, the 24-year-old’s recovery is almost complete and he could return to WRC action as early as Rally Sweden next month (24 - 27 February).
“Competing in Andros Trophy is six laps,” he said, “it’s not the same physically as doing a WRC round. It’s not possible for me to do Monte Carlo, but I’m hoping to maybe be there [in the WRC] in February. It was hard in October and November, I’m happy to be doing some sport again.”
The son of former Lancia factory driver Yves scored a pair of seventh places during his time aboard a Hyundai and, whilst it still remains unclear what car he will steer this season, Loubet remains optimistic about the future.
“We had a two-year contract [with 2C] and that ended. We’re working on it (a WRC return) and I’m hopeful. Last year was a tough season, but we have shown what we can do at a high level when we won WRC2 [in 2019],” he added.
Finland
Italy
Hungary