After three intense days Sebastien Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena were able
to claim victory at the Wales Rally GB, and with it the two points needed to
earn their sixth consecutive World Rally Championship crown. The battle
over the title against BP-Ford's Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen waged on
to the penultimate stage of the season, when the Finns' bonnet came undone
and effectively ended their chance of catching Loeb's Citroen.
 |
|
Winners and 2009 WRC champions Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena celebrate. Photo by Citroën Communication.
|
 |
"There were so much pressure right up to the end of the rally," said Loeb.
"We had a good start to the year, but then encountered a few problems.
However, we got back on top of things just before this rally. Finally, we've
managed to win the title again, on the penultimate stage. Mikko didn't give
up and I had to push right to the finish. It's never easy to compare one
title with another, but I think this is the best one in terms of the
sporting battle we had."
After five consecutive wins in the early season for Loeb it looked like the
reigning champ would easily command another title in the World Rally
Championship. Then a mixture of mistakes and bad luck kept Loeb from keeping
his momentum. Meanwhile Hirvonen came into his own as a title contender for
the BP-Ford team. Before the penultimate round Hirvonen held the
championship lead but two more wins were enough for Loeb to claim his newest
crown by a single point.
"When you win a title with three rallies to go, the pressure isn't the same
because you've always got another opportunity to do it. This was the final
rally and we couldn't afford to get it wrong," Loeb said. "Everybody expected us to win,
but I can tell you that nothing was certain until we reached the finish.
"That's why it means so much to us," added the Frenchman.
For most of the third leg on this weekend's event Hirvonen was doing all he
could to pace faster than Loeb, risking it all to shave seconds off the
leader's time. The only stage he wasn't able to win was the penultimate
where he was delayed long enough to make third placed Dani Sordo a threat.
The difference in time between Hirvonen and Sordo was 0.9 seconds heading
into the final stage. Hirvonen was able to keep second place, adding two
more tenths on the gap to Sordo. Unfortunately, after a brilliant drive all
season, the Finn is yet again Loeb's bridesmaid.
|
 |
|
Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen, BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC08. Photo by Ford Motor Company.
|
"I'm frustrated to lose by so little, but happy I was able to fight for the
title with a six-time world champion until one stage from the end of the
season. The year turned round for us in the second half and nobody will
forget such an exciting end. After the first two stages this morning I
thought I could do it, but the time I lost yesterday morning cost me in the
end. I scored 11 podiums in 12 rounds, but I needed more wins. My challenge
is to beat Loeb before he retires. I've learned a lot this year and I will
come back stronger and better next year," resolved Hirvonen.
Sordo's day was a bit more relaxed with Petter Solberg out of the fight for
the final podium. Yet when Hirvonen slowed down the Spaniard went back on
the attack, trying is best to upstage a competitor he'd been chasing for
most of the season.
"When we got to within nine tenths of Mikko in the penultimate stage, we
told ourselves we had to give it a go and we pushed to the limit," explained
Sordo. "We believed we could do it, but he managed to hold out. I'm
satisfied with a third-place finish in the championship, and that I made a
real contribution to Citroen's success. We've had another very good season."
The Citroen team has much to celebrate this season. Their drivers closed the
year out first and third on the road and in the final points tally. The team
itself walked away with the WRC Manufacturers' Championship, beating Ford for
the honor.
"Three weeks after winning the Manufacturers' title, we've rounded off this
extraordinary season with the Drivers' title, too," concluded Frederic
Banzet, Director of Automobiles Citroen. "We'd got it back to five titles
each, but now Seb's slipped back ahead with his sixth! We're pleased to have
the best team, and best driver and co-driver, in the WRC. Rallying is fits
perfectly with Citroen' strategy; it's an integral part of the brand's DNA.
Motor sport is important, and particularly when you win... and that's what
we've achieved again this year."
 |
|
Daniel Sordo and Marc Marti, Citroen Total World Rally Team Citroen C4. Photo by Citroën Communication.
|
|
The Citroen Junior Team finished fourth in the manufactures' standings on
their debut season. Unable to beat Stobart M-Sport, they can claim Petter
Solberg's fifth in the championship, as the Norwegian concluded his season
fourth on the road with the rookie team. It's not yet clear what the former
champ's 2010 plans are, but a deal with Citroen seems likely.
"There was so much rain at the start of Port Talbot: it was incredible!"
commented Solberg. "I'm very happy indeed with the final result though. The
Citroen C4 WRC is a super car and we've made a lot of progress with it
throughout the rally. I'd like to thank Citroen for having given me the
opportunity to drive the C4 WRC on the last two events of the season. I gave
it everything I had to beat Dani, but it was difficult. He drove a fantastic
rally."
Jari-Matti Latvala had a challenging rally but was able to claw his way back
into seventh after losing power to the front wheels and brakes on the first
day. The Finn concluded the season fourth in the drivers' championship,
unable to match the consistency of Sordo. For 2010 Latvala will have
hopefully matured into a strong contender, one that knows then to back off
from excess risks.
"It was a character-building weekend," admitted Latvala. "I had some
technical issues and made a mistake today. At a little jump right at the
finish I ended up off the road. Thankfully the British fans are as good as
the Finns and they got us back on the road quickly. My driving wasn't as
good as I hoped here. I came here hoping to fight for victory but it wasn't
to be. It was a hard season and now I want to forget rallying for a while,
concentrate on other things and then get my mind ready for 2010."
|
 |
|
Henning Solberg and Cato Menkerud, Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 08. Photo by xpb.cc.
|
Stobart M-Sport teammates Henning Solberg and Matthew Wilson came home fifth
and sixth, respectively. The Stobart team was presented with the 'Sprit of
the Rally' award for raising money for the Armed Services charity Help for
Heroes.
Conrad Rautenbach rounded out the top eight. The Citroen Junior driver
finished tenth in the season. Retired from this weekend, Sebastien Ogier was
still able to take eighth for the team in points.
It can never be said enough that Loeb is a living legend of motorsport. Six
consecutive titles, 54 WRC class wins all earned with the backing of
Citroen. Where the Frenchman will end up next year is still up in the air.
He was linked to a possible entry into the Formula One season finale with
the F1 Red Bull team, but had to give up the chance when the FIA ruled he
was ineligible for the needed Superlicense.
Loeb was seen in a formula car earlier this month when he tested in GP2 with
David Price Racing. It's possible we might see the rally ace looking for an
open-wheel ride in the near future, but for now nothing is certain. Instead
Loeb and the entire Citroen camp will be looking forward returning to France
as rally heroes, a role the champion is more than used to.
