Loeb retires from 2021 Dakar Rally after latest issue

Competing in the 375km Sakaka-Neom loop that formed the second part of the marathon stage, Loeb suffered two punctures in the first 80km when he had only spare tyre and three working brake calipers on his Prodrive-built BRX1 contender.

After being stranded for over five hours in the middle of the stage, Loeb along with his co-driver Daniel Elena made the decision to return to the bivouac by road, marking an end to his 2021 Dakar campaign.

The Bahrain Raid Xtreme team’s official truck - the #532 MAN machine driven by Jordi Esteve, Rafa Tibau and Arnald Bastida - had broken down at the 316km mark in Sunday’s Stage 7 - and was thus unavailable to assist Loeb.

Loeb has been hit by a series of problems in his fifth Dakar attempt and was sitting 43rd overall heading into Stage 8, over 13 hours down on leader Stephane Peterhansel of X-raid Mini.

”We have faced a lot of challenges in the last eight days, but throughout this Dakar, myself and Daniel, have been determined to reach the finish of the rally,” said Loeb.

”Every day we remind ourselves how lucky we are that this is our job, and to be part of the BRX team. We came to the Dakar with the same ambition as the team; to achieve great results, but today we had no other choice but to retire.

”This morning we made the decision to give Nani and Alex our spare wheels, to optimise their chances, but with punctures during the special stage, it was impossible for us to go any further. I am disappointed for the team, but we have learned a lot of lessons, and will come back stronger next year.”

Loeb’s first major setback came in the fifth stage when he suffered several punctures and got lost in the Saudi Arabian desert, leaving him almost an hour down on the leaders.

A broken suspension arm followed in Stage 6, with any hopes of a quick fix ending when the truck arrived with the incorrect replacement part – two right suspension arms instead of one right and one left.

It forced Loeb to wait a total of eight hours until the correct replacement part was delivered – with the actual repair only taking 20 minutes.

Having already dropped out of the reckoning, the French driver suffered more mechanical pain in Sunday’s Stage 7 with a damaged bearing and conceded a further two hours in total when he reached the end of the stage.

The WRC legend was also the centre of a dispute with organiser ACO after he was handed a five-minute penalty for speeding in a slow zone, labelling the steward “incompetent”.

The ACO later responded to Loeb’s remarks, saying he exceeded the speed limit by 77km/h and that the Frenchman “does not pay attention to his co-driver’s instructions.”

Loeb, who returned to Dakar in 2021 after a one-year hiatus, is still chasing a first win in the prestigious rally-raid.

His BRX teammate Nani Roma sits fifth overall with four stages to run.