Loeb & Peugeot 908 HDI FAP LMP1 Racecar Testing

Peugeot 908 HDI FAP. Loeb and Sarrazin swap cars for a day. Stephane Sarrazin's Peugeot 908 and Sebastien Loeb's Citroen C4World rally champion Sebastien Loeb and former Le Mans Series champion Stephane Sarrazin swapped cars in France yesterday with Loeb taking the wheel of a Peugeot 908 HDi at Paul Ricard and Sarrazin sampling a Citroen C4 WRC on a nearby gravel stage. Loeb, who contested the 2005 and 2006 Le Mans 24 Hours in an LMP1 Pescarolo, drove five laps of the circuit in a specially-converted two-seater 908, before taking 15 laps on his own - lapping just over a second off a time set by Sarrazin. "It was great fun and I'm delighted that Stephane and I were given this opportunity to test our respective cars," said Loeb. "What is always impressive about sports prototypes and single-seaters is their speed and the amount of downforce they generate, but I have to say that I was struck by the amount of torque delivered by the Peugeot's diesel engine. "I was a little surprised by the restricted visibility you get from the closed cockpit, but I soon felt confident enough to start pushing a little harder and I savoured every minute of the experience. The time passed so quickly and I didn't want to give the car back afterwards." Then Sarrazin, who competed in the WRC for Subaru in 2005 and 2006, was given a passenger ride around the 3km stage in Domaine de Riboux by Loeb before taking over behind the wheel for 12 runs through the course - setting similar times to Loeb. "It's been a tremendous thrill to drive the C4 today," said Sarrazin. "Maybe we could swap places for an event? Sebastien could take my place on an endurance race and I could drive his car on a rally! "Compared with the rally cars I have driven in the past, I was impressed by its overall balance and more especially by how easy it was to set up into the corners. "It really is a very efficient machine, and very predictable - you immediately feel confident enough to start pushing hard. It was great and I would love to have carried on a little longer." Both Loeb and Sarrazin will contest the final round of the French Rally Championship - Rallye du Var - this weekend. Loeb will be co-driven by his wife in a Citroen C2 Super 1600, while Sarrazin will be joined by Jacques-Julien Renucci in a Peugeot 207 RC Rallye.