Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) and Mikko Hirvonen (Ford) will fight for championship win this week-end in the rally Great-Britain, final round of the 2011 World Rally Championship.
Will Sebastien Loeb clinch his eight title in-a-row, or will Hirvonen take his first WRC title in his career ? Before the last round of the season, presented in the moody roads of Wales, both men are separated by only eight points. Loeb got the advantage, as he stands alone in championship lead since his win in Rally of Spain. A second place this week-end could be enough for Loeb to clinch another title.
But everything can happen this week-end. As the championship leader, Loeb will have to start in first position in the first day. Which may be an advantage for the frenchman. Always very performant this season, Loeb ran out of luck on some rallies, which cost him a lot of points. From Hirvonen’s side, the Finn is still able to chase for the title thanks to his regularity, but also thanks to his team mate Jari-Matti Latvala, who helped him to score big points in the last races.
As Latvala, Sébastien Loeb’s team mate, Sebastien Ogier, will have an important role in this duel. The young frenchman has the capacity to stand in front of both Ford cars, or even to win the rally. Ogier has no chance to clinch title since his retirement with a broken engine in Spain, but he still aims to beat Hirvonen for the second place in final classification.
Will Sebastien Loeb clinch his eight title in-a-row, or will Hirvonen take his first WRC title in his career ? Before the last round of the season, presented in the moody roads of Wales, both men are separated by only eight points. Loeb got the advantage, as he stands alone in championship lead since his win in Rally of Spain. A second place this week-end could be enough for Loeb to clinch another title.
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| Sebastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen. (Photo: WRC) |
But everything can happen this week-end. As the championship leader, Loeb will have to start in first position in the first day. Which may be an advantage for the frenchman. Always very performant this season, Loeb ran out of luck on some rallies, which cost him a lot of points. From Hirvonen’s side, the Finn is still able to chase for the title thanks to his regularity, but also thanks to his team mate Jari-Matti Latvala, who helped him to score big points in the last races.
As Latvala, Sébastien Loeb’s team mate, Sebastien Ogier, will have an important role in this duel. The young frenchman has the capacity to stand in front of both Ford cars, or even to win the rally. Ogier has no chance to clinch title since his retirement with a broken engine in Spain, but he still aims to beat Hirvonen for the second place in final classification.