M-Sport has confirmed that nine-time WRC champion Sebastien Loeb will return to the cockpit of a Ford Puma WRC car at the iconic Safari Rally in Kenya.
Loeb, who is doing a limited programme of selected rallies with the Cumbrian squad, won the first rally of 2022 on the Puma’s debut, following an epic battle with fellow returning champ Sebastien Ogier.
Loeb made his second appearance of the season at the Portuguese rally in May, but crashed out of the lead at the start of day two. He will now make his third appearance at the sixth event of the season in Kenya in June.
It will be the first time that Loeb has competed in Kenya since 2002, when he drove a Citroën Xsara to fifth place. After that the Safari rally left the calendar for nearly 20 years, before a triumphant return last season.
Speaking of his return to the cockpit Loeb said: “Kenya is quite amazing; I think it’s the rally from where I have the most memories. In 2002, the rally was very different. The longest stage was 120km long and we all had a helicopter over our cars announcing all the wildlife that we were approaching on the stage.
“Now it’s very different and it’s more like a typical WRC rally, but the difference for me, compared to Portugal, is that I have no experience of these stages. It is always much more complicated when you arrive to a rally where you have never done the stages before. It will not make it easy, but I am really happy to be going.”
The announcement comes days after Ogier himself confirmed his third rally of 2022 will be the Safari Rally. The seven-time champion also rallied at Portugal, but suffered from a torrid weekend after a litany of punctures left him languishing down the field.
Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.