10 min
Sébastien Loeb's Race to the Clouds
Check out how Sébastien Loeb and Peugeot conquered Pikes Peak in the awesome 208 T16 Pikes Peak.
It's one year since Sébastien Loeb conquered the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb at the wheel of the awe-inspiringly quick Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak.
This time last year, the nine-time WRC world champion shattered Rhys Millen's record for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with a run up the mountain in 8m 13.878s.
It was Loeb's first visit to the Race to the Clouds and Peugeot's first since their legendary successes with Ari Vatanen in the late 80s.
As Loeb gets back behind the wheel of the Peugeot this weekend at the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK, we've asked the man himself to look back on previously unseen footage of his Pikes Peak run a year on and share his thoughts on his incredible achievement.
Click here for a video of Sébastien Loeb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed
What Seb had to say...
On deciding to do Pikes Peak…
“Pikes Peak is a race that I was thinking of for a long time. When I had this opportunity from Red Bull and Peugeot to go there with this car, I thought that maybe I need to do it now, because to have this opportunity with a great car like that and with a manufacturer building a special car for this race – I knew that it would be done right. So I didn’t have to think too much and just decided to go.”
On his first tests with the Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak…
“It was quite short for Peugeot to build a car and for me to test it. I had the first test near Paris, just for an hour. Then I wanted to go on a track because I needed some space to understand how the car behaves – it's so impressive, with so much acceleration, braking and downforce, that I needed to drive on a big track. So we went to Le Castellet [Circuit Paul Ricard in France] and then we went to Mont Ventoux in France. It's a place that looks a little bit like Pikes Peak, so it was good to practice there.”
On preparing for Pikes Peak with Daniel Elena…
“You need to be 100 percent sure of every corner of the track. Before I went to America, I started to watch some videos to start to learn it. Then I went there with my co-driver from the rally [Daniel Elena] and I took some notes like I take in a rally, describing all the road, all the corners, all the angles, everything. Then I started to learn these notes by heart and before every corner I knew, OK, that's the 130 right, that’s the 140 left and so I could remember all the track like that.”
On the best way to drive the Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak…
“This car is closer to a racing car than a rally car because you have big slicks, you have a lot of downforce, a big engine. You have also four-wheel drive and that's a bit closer to rally, but it's so powerful compared to a rally car that you cannot really compare.
You drive it like a Formula One car
The driving is very different, you have to drive more like on a track with a racing car, using the downforce, keeping the speed in the high speed corners and braking very late because of the downforce. It's a car you cannot slide. When you start to slide it starts to bump, so it's not made for that! You drive it like a Formula One car, just using the right line and not sliding.”
On the run itself…
“When I was on the start line I was really ready and 100 percent confident with the car. I was sure of my preparation and feeling good. There was no point where I really had a moment. I was pushing, but I was feeling safe, so no big moments and I was able to put all my best sectors together for the race day.”