News | March 29, 2024

SNAPSHOT! Sébastien Loeb makes his 24H SERIES debut

Our favourite images from the maiden 24H SERIES race for World Rally Championship legend Sébastien Loeb.

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Our favourite images from the maiden 24H SERIES race for World Rally Championship legend Sébastien Loeb.

Photos – Nico Mombaerts / Porsche Newsroom

The World Rally Championship’s heaviest-ever hitter – nine-time world champion Sébastien Loeb – made his 24H SERIES debut at the Hankook 12H MUGELLO, and he didn’t come alone! The WRC’s GOAT was joined by his partner Laurène Godey and 2016 FIA World Endurance Champion, Romain Dumas.

Invited to compete one month prior by Centre Porsche Genève general manager Alexandre Mottet, Loeb and Dumas teamed up in the black, #963 Orchid Racing Team Porsche 992 GT3 Cup alongside Laurent Misbach, Loic Villiger and Mottet himself…

…while Godey drove the sister, silver #917 Porsche alongside Mottet (again), and Swiss teammates Antonio Garzon, Daniel Gillioz, Frank Villiger. Though the #963 was a one-off entry for Mugello, Garzon, Mottet and Misbach will contest the full European season with the #917.

Time on the simulator clearly well spent! Even though he had never previously driven around the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, Loeb posted the fastest lap for the #963 in Free Practice and helped secure Orchid Racing 4th on the 992 grid. Porsche factory driver Dumas meanwhile would have to wait until his first race stint before turning a #963 wheel in anger.

A one-place grid penalty for an incorrect driver ID in qualifying meant the #963 Porsche slipped to 5th in-class on the grid. Misbach, fortunately, managed to avoid several spinning cars at turn two, but the avoiding action meant the Frenchman dropped back to 7th. By contrast, the sister #917, driven F. Villiger, gained three places at the start, moving up to 11th.

A man in demand! Shortly after his first stint in the Porsche, the WRC GOAT and 2022 Extreme E champion caught up with radiolemans.com’s Diana Binks, and explained that even a weekend racing “just for fun” could still bring out his competitive side: “I have a lot more experience in rallying and cross-country than racing. But it’s what I like. Every time I come racing, it’s a bit new for me, so I have to discover things and I have to work a bit to optimize the details. It’s always new adventure.”

After an error-free ‘part one,’ the Orchid Racing Team lined up 3rd (963) and 11th (917) in-class for Sunday morning’s restart in Mugello. All the more impressive, given the demands of the Mugello circuit…

“It’s not an easy track. It’s really not an easy track!” Romain Dumas explained to CREVENTIC. “There are not a lot of long straights to relax. You have these flat [out] curves that you need to use properly. Lap after lap, you always find some new trick!”

Nope, Orchid Racing didn’t sneak a two-time Indy 500 winner into its driver line-up as well! This Juan Pablo Montoya-inspired lid actually belongs to Loic Villiger, who took the #963 wheel for the first stint on Sunday morning. His brother Frank meanwhile took the restart in the #917.

Having completed his maximum drive time on the Saturday (and posted the Porsche’s fastest lap), Loeb handed PRO driving duties over to Dumas on the Sunday. The four-time Nürburgring 24 Hours winner proved invaluable when the rain, a threatening presence throughout the weekend, finally arrived during the 11th hour. One quick trip through the gravel aside, Dumas quickly lit up the timing screens, and at one stage was running FOUR SECONDS per lap faster than leader Red Ant Racing.

Despite the nail-biting conditions, Sébastien Loeb and Romain Dumas completed a successful “fun” weekend in Mugello on the 24H SERIES podium, behind only Red Ant Racing. Garzon, Mottet and Misbach meanwhile, together with Laurène Godey, got their 2024 championship campaign off to a solid start by finishing 9th overall in 992 and 6th in 992-Am.