FIA World Rally-Raid Championship: Sebastien Loeb targets Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge victory

Bengaluru, February 21: Rally legend Sebastien Loeb is eyeing victory in next month's Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge to put Bahrain Raid Xtreme (BRX) on course for a maiden title triumph in the inaugural FIA World Rally-Raid Championship.

The nine-time World Rally Championship (WRC) winner is just a point behind Nasser Al Attiyah after finishing second behind the ace Qatari driver in last month's Dakar Rally held in Saudi Arabia, and wants to go one better in the second round of the new FIA-sanctioned Rally-Raid series to be held in the UAE deserts.

Since Dakar, Loeb has secured a memorable eighth career win in the Monte Carlo Rally in his first WRC start since 2020.

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As per a media release received, the Frenchman is in Bahrain as BRX fine tunes preparations for the Desert Challenge running from March 5 to 10.

The inuagural five-leg 2022 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship started with the greulling Dakar Rally in the Saudi Arabia from January 1 to 14.

Following the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship moves on to rounds in Kazakhstan (April 24-30) and Spain (June 6-12) before culminating in Morocco (October 6-12).

Prodrive Hunter revamped

From a base at Bahrain International Circuit, BRX has completely rebuilt Loeb's Prodrive Hunter after creating Dakar history in Saudi as the first top team to complete the rally with cars running on next generation advanced sustainable fuel.

The BRX Prodrove Hunter is a product of the partnership between Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company Mumtalakat, the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain and Prodrive, the British motorsport and engineering group.

Exceptional racing car

"Two years ago we had a vision and a mission when we established our partnership, and today here we are celebrating the team's achievements," said Mumatalakat CEO Khalid Al Rumaihi.

"In addition to building an exceptional racing car and a great team, this partnership presents the opportunity to further diversify the economy of the Kingdom within the technology industries field, create employment, enhance local expertise, and raise the profile of Bahrain as a centre of technological excellence in the region," he added.

Sustainable fuel

The sustainable fuel used by BRX reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent compared to petrol, because it is made from agricultural waste material.

By using it during the Dakar Rally 2022 in the Saudi deserts and dunes, the team's three cars saved over 28 tonnes of CO2 emissions. BRX aims to demonstrate that such fuels can be used as an alternative to petrol and diesel in road transport, and immediately make a contribution to fighting climate change.

Targeting Abu Dhabi deserts

Afrer the Monaco win, Loeb had turned his focus to Abu Dhabi where he will be making his first Desert Challenge appearance. "I'm so excited to be driving it. Now we concentrate fully on the Desert Challenge, and we're going to do everything we need to do to give ourselves the best chance of winning the rally," Loeb said.

"The overall aim this year now is to win the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship, and put ourselves in the position to do the same in the Dakar next year, which is our major target as a team," the 47-year-old added.