Rally legend Sebastien Loeb has tested the new 2027 Project Rally One World Rally Championship challenger.
The nine-time world champion joined up with the Belgian tuner team this week to assist with the development of the operation’s new WRC car that is set to make its championship debut at the season opener in Monte Carlo in January.
Project Rally One officially unveiled its new car built to 2027 technical regulations last month and it’s hoping to field two cars in selected events next year beginning in Monte Carlo.
During the car’s development testing, Project Rally One will utilise as many as eight drivers, including experienced heads in former factory WRC drivers Stephane Lefebvre, Freddy Loix and Bruno Thiry, with newly crowned European rally champion Teemu Suninen leading the development on gravel. The team is yet to announce its driver line-up for 2027 but has hinted that drivers involved in car’s development are likely to be in the frame.
Loeb is the latest driver to help the team, with the 80-time WRC rally winner’s expertise extremely useful to the team. The Frenchman has remained active in the rally scene, although his last WRC appearance arrived in 2022, driving an M-Sport Ford Puma.
“Project Rally One completed two days of testing in the French Vosges last week. On Thursday, Teemu Suninen took on the role of test driver” read a statement from the team.
Project Rally One Render 01
“The team faced rainy weather throughout the day, which meant the initial set-up for wet conditions was tested. On Friday, Sébastien Loeb got behind the wheel. This time, the weather conditions were milder and driving was mainly carried out on dry roads. The feedback from both drivers was positive and their contribution was fundamental to the car’s development.
“The homologation dossier is currently being drafted and will be submitted to FIA’s technical department by the end of the month.”
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