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Legendary rally driver Loeb to race Dakar with Peugeot

Xinhua, September 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

Nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb will drive one of four Peugeot-Total 2008 DKR16s at the 2016 Dakar Rally, announced French car manufacturer Peugeot on Tuesday.

"The greatest rally driver of all time will tackle one of the biggest challenges of his exceptional career," read a statement released by Peugeot Sport.

Loeb, 41, joins two-time WRC champion and 2010 Dakar winner Carlos Sainz, 11-time Dakar winner Stephane Peterhansel and five-time Dakar bike winner Cyril Depres to form a so-called "dream team" for "the world's toughest rally".

"The Dakar is completely different from the racing I'm doing at the moment," said Loeb. "It will be very long, over two weeks, and you need to have the endurance to look after the driver and the car. It's another approach to racing but I'll discover that in January."

Since effectively retiring from WRC rallying after the last of his nine consecutive world titles in 2012, Loeb has been racing the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) with Citroen.

Before heading to Dakar, Loeb and his fellow Peugeot drivers will race next month the week-long Rally of Morocco, which is a marathon rally instead of a WRC circuit, as a preparation for the Dakar. Endit