Paris (AFP)

Frenchman Sébastien Loeb will take the wheel of a Hyundai at Rally Turkey, 5th round of the World Championship (WRC), from September 18 to 20, his team announced on Twitter on Tuesday.

The nine-time world champion, who is playing a partial program in the WRC, will be teamed up with Belgian Thierry Neuville and Estonian Ott Tänak, reigning champion.

His last appearance in the World Cup dates back to the Rallye Monte-Carlo, the opening round of the 2020 season, in January. He had then finished 6th.

The World Rally Championship, halted by the coronavirus pandemic in March after three rounds (Monte-Carlo, Sweden and Mexico), resumes next week in Estonia, where it has never yet been.

There, it is the Irishman Craig Breen who will be associated with Neuville and Tänak.

Frenchman Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) leads the drivers' standings with 8 points better than his British teammate Elfyn Evans and 20 more than Neuville. Among manufacturers, Toyota is 21 steps ahead of Hyundai and 45 over M-Sport Ford.

The season should normally be 8 rounds until Rally Ypres, Belgium, November 19-22.

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