Daniel Elena (born 26 October 1972) also known as "Danos" is a
Monégasque 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 ...
co-driver working most notably with
Sébastien Loeb. Between them the pair have won the
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...
(WRC) nine times with
Citroën
Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...
, later competing with
Hyundai. Their 79 wins together make him the co-driver with the most victories in the history of the WRC.
Career
He started rallying in 1992 as
co-driver to Christophe Bovini but his first 'full season' came in 1996 with Hervé Bernard in the French national championships.
In 1998 he became Loeb's co-driver and quickly developed a strong relationship with him, winning every event they finished in the
Citroën Saxo Trophy in 1998, then the overall trophy itself in 1999. The following year with Citroën part-backing the duo, they won the two-wheel drive class of the French gravel title.
In 2001, they won both the
FIA Super 1600
Super 1600, also known as S1600, is a Rallying, rally car formula that was primarily used in the Junior World Rally Championship between 2001 and 2010, as well as international rallycross championships and various national rally championships. Any ...
championship (later
J-WRC) in their Citroën Saxo and the French national championship in a Citroën Xsara Kit Car. Becoming an obvious choice for Citroën's WRC team, they made their first start for the manufacturer in the same year, finishing 2nd overall on the 2001
San Remo Rally. A part programme in 2002 included their first win at
Rallye Deutschland
The ADAC Rallye Deutschland is a Rallying, rally event held in Germany. The event was first held in 1982 and originally hosted by e.g. Frankfurt, Mainz and Koblenz. In 2000, the rally was relocated to the region around Trier. Previously part of ...
and in 2003 they became full-time competitors. As team mates to former drivers champions Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz, Loeb and Elena outscored them both finishing the season second overall. They went on to take nine consecutive World Rally Championship titles between 2004 and 2012, before Loeb retired from the series in 2013.
When Loeb came out of WRC retirement in 2018 the pair reunited for Citroën again, running three events and winning
Rally Catalunya.
Hyundai Motorsport offered Loeb a two-year contract running a few events in 2019 and 2020, and Elena once again was his co-driver.
Between 2016 and 2019, Loeb entered the famous
Dakar Rally
The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...
with Elena by his side behind the wheel of a modified Peugeot 3008, reaching the podium twice. In 2021 the pair entered in a Prodrive built car but had to retire. Two months later, Elena posted on social media that he had effectively been sacked by Loeb at Prodrive's request because of the poor Dakar result. Rally's most successful pairing of all time separated after 23 years of working together.
Elena has also entered a few rallies as a driver, including the Monte-Carlo Rally, though never outside France.
Loeb and Elena have won Elena's home rally, the famous
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) is a rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. From its inception in 1911 by Albert I, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert I, the rally ...
seven times (2003–2005, 2007–2008, 2012–2013).
Elena is the first person to have received the
Michael Park Trophy, which is now given yearly to the best co-driver.
Personal life
Elena is divorced and has 2 daughters, Romane and Dorine, with his former wife. He and his new partner, Anaïs Reyne, welcomed a daughter, Joy, on 9 October 2020.
Commitment
Elena is today a member of the ‘Champions for Peace’ club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by
Peace and Sport
Peace and Sport (also known as "L’Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport") is a sports organization based in Monaco under the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco.
Ivorian Football player, footballer Didier Drogba became the organization's ...
, a
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
-based international organization.
Complete WRC results
WRC results
As driver
As co-driver
* Season still in progress.
JWRC results
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elena, Daniel
1972 births
Living people
Monegasque rally co-drivers
Monegasque rally drivers
World Rally Championship co-drivers
Dakar Rally co-drivers
People from Monte Carlo