How good is Sebastien Loeb?

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If every blunder, and he has committed some ("I was the pilot who used the best handbrake in the pins to catch Daniel's bullshit on the road course," according to Loeb), placed him on the hot seat is that Daniel Elena has long paid his image dilettante. Many considered him a wanker and it took him a long time to get rid of this pan very largely unjustified. "Behind his air I do not care, he hides a strength of character quite impressive," notes Loeb. The entertainer Elena was more than the king's madman. He was the king next to the king.

His discreet but strong personality will allow him to cope with the initial defiance of decision makers, and in front of the horde of co-pilot predators ready to steal his place, so good, alongside the French driver. Daniel Elena knows he can thank Loeb, who never let go. If the Alsatian had not shown him an unshakable confidence in their early years, he would have been forced to go elsewhere. But never will the duo be dissociated. The following belongs to History. The first world title, in 2004, and the eight others that followed. Nine world crowns for the greatest rider in history. And for the greatest co-pilot?

Elena, it's Karajan
It was generally felt that Daniel Elena had a gift for copiloting. Of course, in the car, the key element is Loeb. The latter had issued, a few years ago in L'Equipe, this judgment that may seem severe but is fair: "With a serious co-driver, but of average level, I win races.If you put Daniel, nine times world champion, with an average driver, he does not win, it's cruel, but the performance comes from the driver, not his teammate. "

But if Loeb is irreplaceable, Elena is still valuable. Not far from being indispensable. Especially in his way, he revolutionized his profession. First by creating with Loeb his own system of notes: concise but sharp and ultra-precise, more probably than in the system used by Anglo-Saxons and Nordics.

These notes are now crucial with the limitation of recognitions, while they were almost unlimited until the 90s. In the Loeb-Elena system, the value announced corresponds to the angle of the turn. The lower the value, the slower the turn. Conversely, the higher the value, the faster the turn. Many have been inspired since, starting with Sébastien Ogier and his co-driver, Julien Ingrassia.

Then there is the Elena style, which does not read the notes, but declaims them. The sings, almost. His musicality, which is his own, plays a lot in the driving of Sebastien Loeb, which is as much a melody as the text. "I could almost drive with my eyes closed, just at the sound of Daniel's voice," said Loeb one day. "Danos" is defined as a "conductor". In the car, Karajan, it's him. "I'm his eyes, he's my hands," he tells me, "I'm on the baton, the co-pilot is going to give the tempo, the rhythm in relation to the notes." The pilot plays the music and together we try to deliver the most beautiful symphony possible, I am the conductor, Seb is the maestro. "

250 days together in 3m²
But the greatest strength of the "couple" Loeb-Elena is its extraordinary alchemy, which can not be explained. Loeb is a huge pilot. Elena a great copilot. But if the first has never imagined to ride with another pair, it is mostly for a question of affinities. They eventually became inseparable and their complicity in the race, extended by their friendship outside the car, weighed positively on their performance.

"Our story is that of a professional adventure but also a story of friendship in life, ensures the Southern copilot.We can always succeed in the car without strong personal affinities, with a pilot who jumps from a co-driver to the other, but I think that trust in the car sometimes helps to get the last few seconds and to avoid some mistakes too. "

Daniel Elena would not have imagined to live with a guy with whom he had nothing to share. "At the big time, we spent the equivalent of 250 days together in 3m².It is interesting to get along, he blows, hilarious.It is a special link.There are galleys, happiness , the joys and the best is to share these emotions with someone, someone who is close to you, who knows why we were in the galley, why we came out. is great."

Elena and Loeb shared more than just wins and titles. Teammates, friends, and even neighbors since they settled five minutes from each other in Switzerland, near Lausanne, the "big" and the "dwarf", as they are sometimes called, have not dissociated work and friendship. "In twenty years, there has never been weariness in our couple, swear Monegasque.We speak of everything, of nothing, of our private lives.We have the same friends, we see ourselves outside, our women are friends, our girls are friends, when we're in the car, it's the bonus, because that's our passion. " "Danos" admits "some shouting", widely spaced and always without consequences: "We rarely argue because when we have something to say, we said it before it goes up in pressure."