Loeb

Sebastien Loeb wins the Rally of Great Britain taking his sixth World Rally Title.

Loeb started the year by winning Rally Ireland for the second time since 2007. He then won his first Rally NorwayMikko Hirvonen, lasting throughout the very final stage. Being first on the road through all three days, Loeb kept his lead, in the end winning with 9.8 seconds over Hirvonen. Loeb continued his good form by winning over Hirvonen in Cyprus, marking his career 50th victory, and in Portugal. His victory in Argentina, the fifth in a row in this country, was also his fifth victory in a row since the start of the season. ever, after a fierce battle with

At the Rally d’Italia Sardegna, Loeb had a puncture after going off the road and dropped from third to fourth. Although he passed Petter Solberg for the final podium spot, he still finished fourth due to a time penalty for a safety rule violation; co-driver Daniel Elena had unfastened his safety belts before the crew stopped the car for a tire change. At the Acropolis Rally, Loeb crashed out from third place. On Rally Poland’s return to the WRC, Loeb had another crash but he continued in the event under superally rules. After team orders issued for the Citroën Junior Team drivers and a late mistake by Ford’s Jari-Matti Latvala, Loeb found himself seventh but had lost the championship lead to Hirvonen by one point.

By winning the Rally Catalunya, Loeb reduced the deficit to Hirvonen in the title race before the final event of the year; once again trailing by a single point. The Frenchman gained the championship by winning the final event of the year, the Rally GB. Victory was secured partly due to an incredible performance over SS8 and SS9, where in the course of only two stages Loeb extended his lead in the rally over Hirvonen from 2.4s to 25s.

Pos  Driver              Car           Time/Gap
 1.  Sebastien Loeb      Citroen     3h16m25.4s
 2.  Mikko Hirvonen      Ford         + 1m06.1s
 3.  Dani Sordo          Citroen      + 1m07.1s
 4.  Petter Solberg      Citroen      + 1m28.1s
 5.  Henning Solberg     Ford         + 6m28.0s
 6.  Matthew Wilson      Ford         + 7m46.0s
 7.  Jari-Matti Latvala  Ford        + 12m11.9s
 8.  Conrad Rautenbach   Citroen     + 14m27.8s
 9.  Eyvind Brynildsen   Skoda       + 22m22.7s
10.  Armindo Araujo      Mitsubishi  + 24m18.8s