“I’m very motivated for the challenge, and I think rallycross is the ideal discipline for electrification because we have a lot of power and the races are short,” says Loeb.

“These cars are exciting to drive, and World RX is the perfect platform to promote their evolution. The show on-track is just amazing, with great fights and even more spectacular action than before, and now we have the opportunity to attract a whole new generation of fans.”

The nine-time FIA World Rally champion is no stranger to World RX, having raced for three seasons (2016-2018) in a Peugeot 208 WRX.

That yielded a brace of victories and 15 further podium appearances from 36 outings. His ratio of top three finishes to starts is the third-best in World RX history.

In his final campaign, Loeb was the only driver to prevent Johan Kristoffersson from taking a clean sweep of event wins.

And now, five years later, the Frenchman is back in World RX – where he has teamed up with fellow countryman Guerlain Chicherit.

Chicherit, a four-time Free Skiing World Champion and accomplished off-road racer, gave the Lancia Delta Evo-e RX a promising debut in the 2022 World RX season finale at Germany’s Nürburgring.

Chicherit has created a new project in which he and Loeb will race under the newly formed Special ONE Racing team name.

“I’m from a generation that was brought up seeing wins by Lancia Deltas in rallying, so naturally I have a weakness for this car, but when Guerlain spoke to me the first time about tackling a rallycross season with it, I thought he was mad,” adds Loeb.

“Then I tried the car last December and 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.”

“It’s a dream of mine to be able to align two cars from my own brand with World RX, one of which is entrusted to a sporting legend,” explains Chicherit.

“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 event.

“Let’s get going!”

The 2023 FIA World Championship campaign will get underway at Montalegre in Portugal on 3-4 June, prior to travelling throughout Europe and concluding with long-haul double-header events in Cape Town (South Africa) and Hong Kong (China) in the autumn.