Loeb & Sordo switch disiplines for a weekend

Citroen World Rally Team drivers Sebastian Loeb and Dani Sordo switched disciplines for last weekend’s International GT Open Series round at the Circuit de Catalunya, four hours north of where the Rallye de Espana was based in Salou.

Loeb is no stranger to closed circuit racing, as he has competed in two Porsche Carrera Cup events in 2008. During Race 1, which was run in wet track conditions, the Frenchman spun off the track on the second lap. Undeterred, he ripped through the field to get back to 7^th from 22^nd, after qualifying 12^th. In Race 2, he was taken out of the race after being hit up the rear by another competitor.

Loeb’s racing exploits haven’t only been limited to two outings in the French Porsche Carrera cup, however. He took part in the fourth event in the French GT3 Championship this year, onboard a Ferrari F430 GT run by Pro GT, partnering Jean-Pierre Champeau. The all-French crew finished 14^th in the Race 1 and 9^th in Race 2.

His most renowned performances in closed-circuit racing, however, lie at Le Mans. Marking his debut at the infamous endurance event in 2005, Loeb set times equalling his team-mate Soheil Ayrai, who lead the event for a time. The Pescarolo in which they were driving, #17, suffered an eventful race, crashing into a Panoz, damaging the rear bodywork after a puncture, then being forced to retire.

2006 was more successful. Loeb, still in #17, finished second overall, only four laps behind the dominant Audi R10 TDI. Loeb drove one of the two Pescarolos that stormed to fastest in a rain-swept session.

Sordo, however, hasn’t got as much experience as his team-mate. In fact, he has no circuit-racing experience in cars at all. His only experience was karting in his native Spain when he was younger.

“It took some time to get used to running around the same track! And the braking was incredible from the car, it’s very different from rallying, but we had a lot of fun.” said Sordo

Nevertheless, the French-Spanish crew finished in fifth in Race 1, but Loeb was taken out of Race 2 by another competitor who spun in front of and then collided with Loeb.

“It was good,” said Loeb. “Both Dani and I were setting lap times which really the same, which was good for us. We were pleased with the way things were improving through the weekend, and we had the car going in the right direction. It’s a shame for the race [on Sunday], but I had a damaged wheel and couldn’t continue.” Loeb said.