Loeb tests for the Red Bull Ferrari team, linked to the DTM racing seat
Loeb, who won the WRC season-opening Monte-Carlo Rally in January, was on hand for a private test hosted by Red Bull’s DTM partner AF Corse at Spa alongside recently confirmed Team drivers Felipe Fraga and Nick Cassidy.
It is understood that AF Corse were using three cars at the Belgian Grand Prix site on Tuesday, with their regular Red Bull and AlphaTauri Ferrari 488 GT3s complemented by a third car in plain white livery.
Red Bull declined to comment on Loeb’s surprise appearance in the pre-season test, which continues on Wednesday, but also refrained from denying the Frenchman’s presence at Spa.
Loeb has long been linked with the energy drink giant and could be in line to replace Cassidy when the Kiwi is unavailable to race in the DTM due to conflicting Formula E and World Endurance Championship commitments.
Cassidy is set to miss the opening round at Portimao from April 30 to May 1 as well as the Norisring races in June, with his Formula E contract with Envision taking precedence over his DTM contract with AF Corse.
Round six of the DTM season at Spa also falls on the same weekend as the WEC’s annual visit to Fuji in September.
Loeb, who races in Extreme E for Lewis Hamilton’s Prodrive-run X44 team and the new FIA World Rally Raid Championship with the Prodrive-built BRX Hunter, faces no scheduling conflicts with the Portimao and Norisring DTM races.
However, the Spa DTM race straddles the penultimate round of the Extreme E series in Chile.
Felipe Fraga, AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Loeb’s potential inclusion would lend star power to Red Bull’s DTM line-up, especially as the Austrian marque has been unable to strike a deal to place one of its junior Formula 1 drivers. in the series due to multiple clashes with Formula. Calendars 2 and Formula 3.
The 48-year-old has a pedigree in circuit racing, having finished second overall in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2006 and winning several races in the World Touring Car Championship between 2014 and 2015.
His final season racing in GT3, in 2013 with his own McLaren-affiliated Sebastien Loeb Racing team, also saw Blancpain Sprint Series victories alongside Alvaro Parente.