Reigning Extreme E champion Sébastien Loeb will once again fill in for Nasser Al-Attiyah at ABT CUPRA XE for this weekend’s Island X Prix #2 in Sardinia.
Al-Attiyah missed the first Island X Prix in July as he was competing in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas’ Italian Baja that weekend, and he turned to his World Rally-Raid Championship rival Loeb to take his place. Likewise, Al-Attiyah has other obligations for this upcoming weekend as he focuses on the Rally of Lebanon.
Having not having raced all season as he departed X44 at the end of 2022, Loeb returned to a more competitive playing field. After getting re-acclimated to the series, he and new team-mate Klara Andersson produced results by making the Grand Final in Race #1 followed by winning the Redemption Race the next day. Still, Loeb describes his return as looking to complete unfinished business.
“It’s great to be back in Sardinia with ABT and CUPRA for two more races,” said Loeb. “I’m really looking forward to meeting Klara and the team again, because I have very good memories of the last time.
“We didn’t get the results we expected and probably deserved, so we’ll do our best to do better this time.”
Between the two Sardinia rounds, Loeb competed in Rallycross France. If not for his Bahrain Raid Xtreme putting focus on October’s Rallye du Maroc and the 2024 Dakar Rally, he also would have run the W2RC’s Desafío Ruta 40 in late August alongside Al-Attiyah.
ABT CUPRA XE is eighth in points.