WRC: Sebastien Loeb takes his sixth World Rally Title!

From the World Rally Championship

Frenchman Sebastien Loeb cruised through the final stage of the Rally of Great Britain today to take victory in his Citroen Total team C4 WRC and wrap up a remarkable sixth World Rally Championship title.

The win, the seventh from the 12-round season for Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena, was the 54th of his record-breaking WRC career. Loeb clinched his sixth title by the closest of margins; his total of 93 points was just one ahead of his arch rival Mikko Hirvonen of the BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team.

Ford Focus RS WRC driver Hirvonen, and his co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen, were next to reach the finish control, and were two of the first to congratulate Loeb and Elena.

After his bonnet flew up on the penultimate test, Hirvonen did enough over the final 22.51km to secure second place in Wales, and get closer to Loeb in the Drivers' fight than anybody since Marcus Gronholm in 2006.

Loeb's Citroen Total teammate Dani Sordo finished third, just one second behind Hirvonen, to take the final step on the podium and secure third place in this year's Drivers' Championship standings on a total of 64 points.

Rallye GB final classification:

1. Loeb-Elena (Citroen C4 Wrc) in 3.16’25”4
2. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Ford Focus RS Wrc) + 1'06”1
3. Sordo-Marti Citroen C4 Wrc) + 1'07”1
4. P. Solberg-Mills (Citroen C4 Wrc) + 1'28”1
5. H.Solberg-Menkerud (Ford Focus RS Wrc) + 6’28”0
6. Wilson-Martin (Ford Focus RS Wrc) + 7’46”0
7. Latvala-Anttila (Ford Focus RS Wrc) + 12’11”9
8. Rautenbach-Barritt (Citroen C4 Wrc) + 14’27”8
etc.

Final championship classification :

1. Loeb pts 93, 2. Hirvonen 92, 3. Sordo 64, 4. Latvala 41, 5. P. Solberg 35, 6. H. Solberg 33, etc.