Sebastien Loeb wrapped up his sixth straight world rally title by claiming victory in the final round of the championship on Sunday.
The Frenchman went into the Wales Rally GB trailing arch-rival Mikko Hirvonen by a point, but relegated the Finn to second place with a commanding drive in his Citroen. CNN International
The 35-year-old won by 66 seconds on Sunday but was helped enormously when Hirvonen suffered a mishap on the third of the day’s four stages.
Having pegged back the Frenchman’s overnight lead from 30 to 18 seconds, the Finn was forced to stop when his bonnet flipped up, costing him a minute. BBC Sport
“It’s been an incredible season,” said a delighted Loeb. “We made a good start then we lost everything and we came here one point behind Mikko. Finally we’ve done it and I’m really happy but Mikko has been extremely strong. I know it will be tough next year for sure.
“This has been one of my best title wins; the battle was so intense - going almost until the end of the last rally. It was incredible. We have had some highs and some lows this year but we finished with the victory. It?s an incredible feeling!” he added.
The GB success was Loeb’s seventh win of the season and the 54th of his career. AFP
Hirvonen, who had to make do with second place in the race and the overall standings, said: “I need to go back to work and try to find more speed for next year. It was definitely the best year I’ve ever had but a big disappointment in the end. All I can do is try again next year.” guardian.co.uk
Third place in the final overall standings went to Spain’s Dani Sordo, but he was on 64 points - a long way adrift of Loeb and Hirvonen.
| 
|