Earlier this week Pierre-Louis Loubet announced his new co-driver for the Central European Rally, find out who it is below.
Who Is It?
Pierre-Louis Loubet goes from an experienced WRC co-driver in Nicolas Gilsoul to a less experienced former WRC co-driver. As Loubet will be joined by Benjamin Veillas for the Central European Rally next weekend. Veillas has a bit of history within the WRC. As he has previously co-driven for Eric Camilli in WRC1 and WRC2. He also spent last season up until Rally Japan co-driving for some guy named Sebastien Ogier. Veillas only has 1 WRC win under his belt and an additional podium. Both with Ogier last season.
A Bit Of History
Veillas started his co-driving career in 1997. He pretty much exclusively did rounds of French rally championships but never found much success in the championships. Nonetheless, in 2015 Veillas got his big break. Joining Eric Camilli in WRC2 for the season. Veillas still co-drives occasionally for Camilli now. The duo found mixed success in WRC2, claiming a handful of podiums and 3 WRC2 event wins. In 2022 Veillas joined Sebastien Ogier for the season. The duo had decent results, finishing top five at all but one event.
Why Did Loubet Choose Veillas?
The exact reason why Loubet chose Veillas will likely remain unknown. However one of the bigger factors as to why Veillas was chosen probably has to do with his nationality. Veillas is French, much like Loubet. In the past, Loubet has had decent results with a French co-driver. Experience likely didn’t play much of a part in why Loubet chose Veillas. However, it doesn’t seem like the Loubet and Veillas partnership will be a long-term thing. As Veillas is 45 and will be 46 in February. While Loubet is 26 and will be 27 in February. Veillas likely isn’t going to co-drive for much longer. Which raises the question of why Loubet chose him. When he could’ve chosen a younger co-driver who’s around his age to build experience with. Much like those before him have. The answer to that question is probably availability. Loubet had to find a co-driver in relatively short notice as far as we are aware. As it’s likely Loubet’s decision to split from Gilsoul came after Rally Chile BioBio, which was less than a month ago.