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"Photos courtesy of Sebastien Loeb Racing.  It&amp;#039;s a problem most sporting greats are eventually faced with. After sitting atop the World Rally Championship since 2004\u2013earning an unprecedented eight consecutive titles for Citroen\u2014and nothing left to prove, France&amp;#039;s Sebastien Loeb is ready to call time on his career in the WRC. At 38 years old, and with growing interests in road racing, Loeb isn&amp;#039;t ready to hang up his helmet for good, which should benefit fans who&amp;#039;ve wanted to see the 74-time WRC winner delve deeper into circuit events.  Although he&amp;#039;s still formulating the exact plan, Loeb will reduce his rally commitments in 2013, competing in a part-time schedule for Citroen in the WRC before bidding farewell to the category for 2014. &amp;quot;The driving bit is the strongest part of rallying: in terms of the sensations you feel and the way you have to improvise with the car,&amp;quot; Loeb said of the satisfaction he derives from rally. &amp;quot;But then again I&amp;#039;ve been there for a number of years and won everything. Now there is the opportunity of a new project with Citroen, whoI&amp;#039;ve won everything together with in rallying, and that is the ideal solution.&amp;quot; According to Loeb, his farewell tour will have something in the region of five eventsnext season.  Speaking this week at Rally France, where he stands a reasonable chance of adding a ninth WRC title to his heady list of accomplishments, saying goodbye to rallying on home soil is his goal. &amp;quot;Really we didn&amp;#039;t plan anything special, just that we start in Monte Carlo and finish the season [in France],&amp;quot; he explained. &amp;quot;But it&amp;#039;s not decided, the ideal number would be between four and five.&amp;quot; Although the French manufacturer has yet to announce its 2014 plans, a formal entry in the FIA&amp;#039;s World Touring Car Championship is expected with Loeb spearheading its efforts.  &amp;quot;On the one hand I thought about calming things down and stopping, but on the other hand I didn&amp;#039;t want to feel like I was retired,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;So now we have a new challenge and a different style of driving, about which myself and Citroen still have a lot to learn, and that is very exciting.&amp;quot; With a pair of 24 Hours of Le Mans races on his resume, multiple F1 tests, experience in France&amp;#039;s top GT category and his own &amp;quot;Sebastien Loeb Racing&amp;quot; sports car team that races in the European Le Mans Series, Loeb should be able to follow in the footsteps of other rally-turned-road-racing legends like Walter Roehrl and Sarel van der Merwe who forged long careers after leaving the dirt, snow and dust behind. Related posts:  S\u00E9bastien Loeb to Compete in X Games in Downtown Los Angeles Ford Fiesta WRC Wins Rally Sweden Mini WRC Team Officially Launched  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/motorsports/news/a9370/rally-legend-sebastien-loeb-planning-wrc-exit-38921/>