Loïc Rapallino

Loïc Rapallino (born 12th February 1968) is a French rally driver, competing for Peugeot in the World Rally Championship and European Rally Championship. Teamed with his wife, co-driver Corinne Fabien, he won the French Rally Driver's Championship twice, in 1995 and 1996, driving a Peugeot 306 Maxi.
== Early Life ==
Loïc was born on 12th February 1968 to parents Vittorio Rapallino and Jeannette Gaudin, in Cannes, France.
== Rally Career ==
=== 1991-1994: SRT ===
Rapallino was noticed by experienced French rally driver Sebastién Sauvageon in 1989, and signed for his team in 1991. Driving a Lancia Delta, Rapallino drove tarmac ERC and FRC (European and French Rally Championships, respectively) gaining experience all the while. Rapallino didn't enjoy much success in the outdated 1989 Lancia, sharing the car with the veteran Sauvageon. Throughout 1993 and 1994, Rapallino used Sauvageon's connections to Peugeot to line himself up to join the manufacturer to develop their rally cars.
=== 1995-Present: Peugeot ===
Rapallino joined the Peugeot team as it unleashed it's 306, helping to develop the Maxi version for the F2 regulations. Rapallino impressed the mechanics with his setup ability on tarmac, and quickly became an integral part of the team. Rapallino later admitted he had made friends with as many of the team as possible, in order to "get the best out of them", though a temporary teammate suspected it was to get the best parts. Rapallino would go on to win the 1995 and 1996 French Rally Championships.
==== WRC Outings ====
In 1997, it was announced that Rapallino and the Peugeot team would compete on various rounds of that year's World Rally Championship. Rapallino took the reins for 3 rounds - Monte Carlo, Barum Czech Rally and the Rallye Sanremo.
Category:Rally
Category:French
Category:Drivers