The nine-time world rally champion will join Guerlain Chicherit to form the new Special ONE Racing team, which intends to field two Delta Evo-e cars in this year’s all-electric World Rallycross Championship.
The car has been designed and developed by Chicherit’s own GCK Motorsport team, which first revealed plans in 2021 to revive the iconic Lancia Delta that made a name for itself in the World Rally Championship during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The car, powered by two 250kW motors, made its debut at the Nurburgring last year.
The news sees Loeb return to World RX having previously contested full seasons in the championship from 2016-2018, driving a factory-backed Peugeot 208 WRX. In that period the Frenchman twice finished fourth in the championship and scored two outright wins at Latvia (2016) and Belgium (2018).
Loeb is set to contest the 2023 championship in parallel to his rally and rally raid commitments. The 49-year-old is currently competing in the World Rally Raid Championship for the Prodrive-run Bahrain Raid Xtreme squad but is yet to secure a part-time drive in this year’s World Rally Championship.
“I'm from a generation that was brought up seeing wins by Lancia Deltas in rally racing. So I naturally have a weakness for this car,” said Loeb.
"But when Guerlain spoke to me the first time about tackling a rallycross, I thought he was mad! Then I tried the car in December 2022 and I was immediately won over by its dynamic qualities. I have great faith in this project and I can't wait to champion it on tracks around the world."
Chicherit added: “It's a dream of mine to be able to align two cars of my own brand with the World RX, one of which is entrusted to a sports legend. The scene is set to see Special ONE Racing become a top-notch team.
“From this season, we'll have the opportunity to make history, becoming the first to have a retrofitted car win a World Championship race. Let's get going.”
The championship’s first of nine rounds begins at Montalegre, Portugal from 3-4 June.
