Albert Llovera Massana (born 11 September 1966) is a

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...

driver and former

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

from

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

. He became the youngest athlete to compete in the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

in 1984 at the age of 17. A serious accident in 1985 left him paralysed from the waist down. He has since taken up rallying, using cars with specially adapted hand controls. He is currently competing in the Super 2000 World Rally Championship.

Career

Rally Finland 2010 - EK 1 - Albert Llovera

At the age of 17, Llovera became the youngest ever athlete to compete in the

when he represented Andorra at the 1984 games in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. In the following year, 1985, whilst competing in the European Ski Cup, also in Sarajevo, he suffered a serious accident which left him using a wheelchair with

paraplegia Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neura ...

beginning at lower back level. He turned to motorsport, first competing on quad bikes and then starting in rallying. In 1989 he won the Peugeot Rally Cup in Andorra. In 2001, with the support of

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

, he began competing in the Junior World Rally Championship in a Fiat Punto S1600. He continued in the championship in 2002. After competing in Spain along with selected WRC appearances he returned full-time to the world stage in 2010 to contest the Super 2000 World Rally Championship in a Fiat Abarth Grande Punto S2000. He finished fifth in class on his first event

Rally Mexico Rally Mexico, formerly known as Rally America is a round of the FIA World Rally Championship. The rally entered the championship schedule in the 2004 season. The event's itinerary is based in the state of Guanajuato. The stages take place in ...

. He scored a best overall result of 17th on

Rally Catalunya The Rally Catalunya (formerly: Rallye Catalunya) is a rally competition held in the Catalonia region of Spain, on the World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned an ...

, which was not a round of the SWRC. He continued in the SWRC in 2011, finishing fourth in the category in

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

. In 2020 he will be competing the Dakar rally in an Iveco truck from the Dutch Team de Rooy.

Complete WRC results

JWRC Results

SWRC results

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Llovera, Albert 1966 births Living people Andorran male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers for Andorra Alpine skiers at the 1984 Winter Olympics Andorran rally drivers World Rally Championship drivers Intercontinental Rally Challenge drivers