Louis Louka shares his journey to co-driving at the top of the WRC on the latest episode of Stage Mode
Photography by M-Sport
Words by Luke Barry
It started with cleaning windshields. Then he was sending emails, and generally doing whatever he possibly could just to get closer to rally cars.
A family trip to Rallye du Condroz-Huy in Belgium had confirmed it. No matter what it took, Louis Louka was going to get involved in rallying. But that’s not easy when you’ve no close connection to the sport.
“I contacted some people,” Louka said on the latest episode of DirtFish’s Stage Mode podcast, “not in big teams because I felt like they wouldn’t take me seriously, but to small teams in Belgium.
“Actually I had nothing to lose, so I just tried every solution just to get close to the cars – to know how it was inside, not just outside spectating it.”
The pay-off is clear, with Louka now co-driving Grégoire Munster in a Rally1 Ford Puma. But to have that kind of drive and single-minded focus to make something happen for yourself – especially when you’re a teenager – is actually quite inspiring.
Louka has worked incredibly hard to get his name on the side window of a Rally1 car
“Honestly, you have to be a bit mad,” Louka smiled. “When you are cleaning a windshield you are like ‘is this really the way to become a co-driver?’ but I showed to myself that I was ready to do anything to achieve this goal.
“Actually what you do is not very important, the thing is to do it. As long as it’s related to what you want to do, that’s the key.”
Louka shares his journey to rallying’s top tier with Luke Barry on the latest edition of Stage Mode, explaining why he feels Munster is underrated by too many, how to respond to setbacks, what WRC crews listen to on road sections and how the WRC drivers really feel when Colin Clark approaches them in the morning…
Throughout, his burning desire for rallying shines through – even prompting an impromptu and bonus quiz at the end!
You can listen to the episode below, or by searching for ‘Stage Mode’ on your favored podcast provider and subscribing there so that you don’t miss any fresh podcasts.
Tags: Gregoire Munster, Louis Louka, Stage Mode, WRC
Publish Date September 26, 2025 DirtFish 
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/09/egYrVLpN-WRC_FIN_25_L_LOUKA_1596-780x520.jpg September 26, 2025
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