The team Dacia stated that it presented a appeal against the exclusion of Sébastien Loeb from the 2025 Dakar Rally. The Frenchman’s team considers its car meets the safety criteria to continue testing and hopes the FIA will reverse the decision made.
Loeb’s team performed calculations to verify the car’s safety body structure and Considering that the area of the car affected by the accident (the safety cage) remains solid which I had before the launch. For this reason, he believes that Loeb’s car is in a position to allow the Frenchman to start this Wednesday.
“After the team’s technicians carried out an inspection on the Dacia Sandrider 219, overseen by the team’s technical director Philip Dunabin and engineering consultant David Lapwoeth, s.The response to the report presented by the FIA Technical Delegate was sent to the stewards and a request was made to the administrators,” the Dacia team said in a statement.
“Dacia Sandriders carried out the necessary calculations to verify the vehicle’s safety cage structure and concluded that the aforementioned section, even if deformed, does not affect the solidity of the car structure and, therefore, has no influence on the impact of vehicle safety conditions,” the note continued.
“Since safety is paramount, Dacia Sandriders shares the disappointment of Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin following the decision made by the stewards. Therefore, decided to file an appeal“, the team closed the statement.
In stage 3, Loeb once again fell into the traps of the Dakar. At kilometer 12, when he was accelerating at full speed through the sandy terrain, an imperceptible pile of sand slowed him down. He lost control of his car and a few turns of the bell. He managed to continue driving, but stopped again moments later, wrecking the car. Cristina Gutiérrez was able to help him, but Loeb’s front fan broke shortly after. Although he reached the finish line, he lost an hour and was eventually forced to retire by the FIA, a decision his team now intends to reverse.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
