Automobile. Sébastien Loeb came to test his Alpine a few kilometers from the Jura

Malans, Wednesday, May 28, 3 p.m. A helicopter lands on the municipal stadium in Malans, in the Doubs department. The roughly one hundred people present on the scene see Sébastien Loeb exit the aircraft. Accompanied by his daughter Valentine, the nine-time WRC world champion didn't get lost in the air. He had the peaceful village on his route for a good reason. Having finished just second in the South African Safari Rally, the driver wanted to get his hands on an Alpine in preparation for the Chablais Rally in Switzerland, an event he sponsors and which will take place on June 6 and 7.

For this race, Sébastien Loeb will be racing in the Alpine A110 GT + of Ludovic Godard, a mechanic in Châtillon-le-Duc and rally driver well known to Pascal Gavignet from Malanais. A rally fan, the latter gives details of the behind-the-scenes of the event: "We had to keep it secret for as long as possible to avoid attracting too many people. Ludo Godard called me last Monday to tell me that Sébastien Loeb needed to test his car." The famous Alpine at the wheel of which the champion of champions won the Mont-Blanc rally in September 2024 .

"In Malans, we have a municipal road that has already been used for testing, notably with riders like Léo Petitjean and Denis Millet ," adds Pascal Gavignet. "I contacted the mayor to ask if we could have Sébastien Loeb ride there."

Mickaël Nicolet, the chief magistrate, then issued a municipal order, blocking the municipal road between Malans and Coulans-sur-Lizon (Éternoz) on Wednesday afternoon. "It's 3.5 km to the hamlet of Saint-Loup," Papou continued. "There and back, with a U-turn and skidding on the handbrake, it's 7 km." Organizers had to ensure the event was safe. Along the route, volunteers monitored access to forest paths, as is done during races.

Sébastien Loeb has driven the course nearly ten times. Several hairpin bends make up the layout before a straight section at the top of the plateau. A line to make the rev counter of the Alpine's 1.8-liter four-cylinder climb. Its owner, Ludo Godard, testifies: "Sébastien reached peaks of 210 km/h. He wanted to get back to feeling the asphalt before next week's race. And when he prepares for a race, he aims to win." Ludovic Godard is also full of praise for his racing car: "It's the most powerful car I've ever driven," says the man who met Sébastien Loeb through Guy Frequelin, head of Citroën Sport during the Alsatian driver's hegemonic years.

"You can really feel the mastery in the way he pushes the vehicle," commented Mayor Mickaël Nicolet, who had a front-row seat. "And he's a really nice, down-to-earth, and very approachable person. The people who saw him really appreciated it."

Around 6 p.m., once the tests were over and before the sky darkened, Sébastien Loeb climbed back into his helicopter. The flight was back to his home in Switzerland.