Albert Llovera Massana (born 11 September 1966) is a

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...

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 for ...

from

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

. He became the youngest athlete to compete in the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) 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 h ...

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 ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. 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 neural ...

beginning at lower back level. He turned to motorsport, first competing on

quad bikes An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is stra ...

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. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

, he began competing in the

Junior World Rally Championship The FIA Junior WRC, also known as JWRC and previously known as Junior World Rally Championship, is an international rallying competition restricted to drivers under 29 years old. The championship currently consists of five select rallies of th ...

in a

Fiat Punto S1600 The Fiat Punto is a supermini car (B-segment) produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1993 to 2018, spanning over three generations. The third generation of the car was marketed between 2005 and 2009 as the Grande Punto, and between 2009 a ...

. 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 The Fiat Punto is a supermini car (B-segment) produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1993 to 2018, spanning over three generations. The third generation of the car was marketed between 2005 and 2009 as the Grande Punto, and between 2009 a ...

. 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 t ...

. He scored a best overall result of 17th on

Rally Catalunya The Rally Catalunya (formerly: Rallye Catalunya) is a rally competition held in Catalonia region of Spain, on the World Rally Championship schedule. Now held on the wide, smooth and sweeping asphalt roads around the town of Salou, Costa Daura ...

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

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. 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 of Andorra Alpine skiers at the 1984 Winter Olympics Andorran rally drivers World Rally Championship drivers Intercontinental Rally Challenge drivers