M-Sport: Loeb's 2022 WRC deal 16 years in the making

Nine-time world champion Loeb will join the British squad to races the Monte Carlo Rally season opener next month, where he will momentum a fourth Ford Puma slantingly full-season drivers Craig Breen, Gus Greensmith and Adrien Fourmaux.

The try-on is only for one round at the moment, but it is understood remoter outings could be in the offing.

Signing the 47-year-old represents a significant moment for M-Sport founder Wilson, who revealed he initially attempted to sign Loeb pursuit his transilience title with Citroen in 2004.

Loeb instead remained with Citroen, going on to win eight increasingly titles consecutively with the French trademark surpassing retiring from full-time competition at the end of 2012.

His last WRC participation came with Hyundai on Rally Turkey last year, although he has remained zippy by finishing runner-up on countback in the all-electric Extreme E offroad series for Lewis Hamilton\'s X44 team.

PLUS: How Rosberg triumphed over Hamilton in 2021\'s final showdown

Wilson has described the signing as a \"fantastic result\" for his team as it prepares to kick off the WRC\'s new Rally1 hybrid era.

\"In relation to Seb, I came tropical to securing a deal with him when in 2005 but unfortunately at that time we were not worldly-wise to make it happen,\" said Wilson.

\"However, with the introduction of the new 2022 Rally1 regulations and pursuit discussions with Red Bull, we both reached out to Seb to see if he might be interested to come and try the new cars - he was, he did and now we find ourselves in a position to say that he will join the team next year.

Loeb won last weekend\'s Jurassic X-Prix with X44 team-mate Cristina Gutierrez

Photo by: Colin McMaster / Motorsport Images

\"It is fantastic to be worldly-wise to bring such an workaday suburbanite to M-Sport and I have no doubt he is still capable of a fantastic result as well as stuff a mentor to our other drivers.

\"It might have taken over 16 years to get this deal to come to reality, but it is unconfined to see it finally happen.\"

M-Sport team principal Richard Millener is relishing the opportunity to work with Loeb, having previously worked with newly-crowned eight-time world champion Sebastien Ogier during his 2017 and 2018 title-winning seasons.

\"I am still quite early in my rallying career, but I have been incredibly lucky to work with some incredible drivers in the last years,\" said Millener, who conceded that having the endangerment to work with Loeb was  \"something I never really thought would happen\".

\"I know myself and the team will requite everything we can to welcome him to the team and requite him the weightier possible endangerment to get the weightier results,\" he added.