French driver Sebastien Loeb cruised to a record-breaking seventh consecutive Rally of Germany title on Sunday, to reclaim his place at the top of the championship standings.
The four-time world champion Citroen C4 driver finished on 3hr 26min 19.7sec, almost 50sec ahead of Spaniard Dani Sordo in the second C4.
The Frenchman, seeking his fifth world championship title, stalled his Citroen engine twice but had an otherwise uneventful drive to win by 47.7 seconds over Spanish teammate Dani Sordo.
“It’s a fantastic win, I am very pleased,” Loeb said. “It was a perfect rally except that this morning I was not fully concentrated and stalled the car twice.”
After building up a 40.3-second lead over Spain’s Sordo following the first two days of competition in the asphalt-based event, Loeb was able to detune his engine on the final day.
Both Citroen drivers eased off through Sunday’s five stages, culminating in a sprint through Trier’s city centre, with Belgian Duval and Hirvonen left to battle it out for the last podium place.
Stobart Ford asphalt specialist Duval, who held a 3.9-second lead over Hirvonen at the start of the day, set the fastest time in the four opening stages to end the rally nine seconds clear of his Finnish rival.
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