Pierre-Louis Loubet has announced he and Nicolas Gilsoul have parted ways just 11 rounds into the 2023 WRC season.
That Was Fast
Pierre-Louis Loubet brought on Nicolas Gilsoul as his co-driver at the beginning of the 2023 World Rally Championship season. Unfortunately for Loubet and Gilsoul, they haven’t been able to get the results they were hoping for. As Gilsoul was hoping to help Loubet become the WRC star that he could be. However, the highest the duo finished this season was sixth at both Rally Sweden and Rally Estonia. It’s disappointing for Gilsoul who is a 5-time vice champion co-driver in the World Rally Championship. Gilsoul was the former co-driver for Thierry Neuville before the duo parted ways at the end of the 2020 WRC season.
What Went Wrong?
What went wrong between Gilsoul and Loubet is unknown. It is known the Belgian co-driver messed up a pace note at Rally Chile BioBio ending Loubet’s event. However one miscall isn’t likely enough for Loubet to consider another co-driver, especially mid-season. Gilsoul is an extremely talented co-driver and Loubet is a talented driver. So why the duo didn’t work out as expected is unknown. Sure Loubet’s Puma hasn’t been reliable but that isn’t Gilsoul’s fault. Truthfully we will probably never know why the two parted ways. It could just be a case of Loubet wanting to try another co-driver. However, why he would do it less than two weeks before the start of the Central European Rally is unknown.
When Could Loubet’s New Co-Driver Be Named?
Pierre-Louis Loubet didn’t name a new co-driver but he likely will sometime in the next week. As the Central European Rally starts in just 13 days. Loubet likely already has a general idea of who his next co-driver will be, and I personally wouldn’t be surprised if it was somebody French. However, that’s just a guess. There is also a chance Loubet will use a co-driver for the Central European Rally and then swap to the co-driver he plans on using in 2024 for Rally Japan to end the season. As most good co-drivers are likely tied up and with such short notice Loubet wouldn’t have many options.