Interesting concept, John.
I’m not sure which is better, because it is hard to pick apart such exceptional talent – especially when they are both in fairly unrelated fields of motorsport.
The Sebastien boys are my favourite drivers in their respective disciplines, as they have both shown such domination of their rivals. They have, almost, unmatched talent from their competitors.
Both are very smooth, and versatile.
Bourdais, for his ability to win on anything from ovals, to street circuits, and anything inbetween—not to mention his adventures in IROC.
On the same token, there is Loeb, who races – and wins – on surfaces ranging from tarmac through to snow.
JohnBM01
if they went head-to-head in a variety of racing disciplines, which Sebastien is better?
Loeb, for the simple reason that to understand and be competitive in rally, you have to understand how a car will work in all situations. Loeb is nothing but smooth, and fast, on every surface he races on.
If you watch him on his second runs through a stage, he will improve more than anyone else, almost every time. He learns everytime he drives, and he exploits that knowledge to get every second out of a stage – almost like a circuit driver searching for a perfect lap in qualifying.
I think he could be competitive in almost any racing series, given the time. With that, I think he would be better able to adapt to circuit racing, compared to Bourdais trying to adapt to rally.
Not that I want to take anything away from either driver, as they are both amazing talents, and have almost nothing more to prove in their current disciplines. For Bourdais, there is Formula One. For Loeb, perhaps he has to continue looking for a new challenge in the WRC.
