Sebastien Loeb has won RallyRACC-Rally de Espana to edge clear of Mikko Hirvonen in the race for the 2011 World Rally Championship crown.
Driving a Citroen DS3 WRC, Loeb maintained his overnight advantage for his seventh win in Spain and his fifth of the season alongside co-driver Daniel Elena. In doing so he helped Citroen wrap-up the manufacturers’ title for a seventh time.
Jari-Matti Latvala began the final day in a strong second place following an inspired performance behind the wheel of his Ford Fiesta RS WRC, which he described as his best performance on asphalt.
However, with team-mate Hirvonen needing to maximize his points total in a bid to prevent Loeb from claiming his eighth world title, Latvala stepped aside for his fellow Finn for the third event in a row.
“We have had a really good weekend, but coming from three bad rallies I could not believe this result before we came to the end,” said Loeb. “Mikko has taken a lot of points so we stay very close in the championship.”
Dani Sordo gave the thousands of Spanish fans lining the route reason to cheer as he finished fourth in his MINI John Cooper Works WRC. Sebastien Ogier had been closing on the local hero when his Citroen suffered an engine-related failure on the penultimate stage.
Classification:
1. Sébastien Loeb (Citroen DS3) en 4h05’39’’3
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Fiesta) + 2’06’’9
3. Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Fiesta) + 2’32’’4
4. Dani Sordo (Mini Cooper) + 3’24’’1
5. Kris Meeke (Mini Cooper) +5’15’’0
6. Mads Ostberg (Ford Fiesta Stobart) + 5’54’’2
7. Evgeny Novikov (Citroen DS3 CRT) + 9’31’’8
8. Henning Solberg (Ford Fiesta Stobart) + 9’40’’1
Etc.
Championship:
1. Loeb 222 points, 2. Hirvonen 214, 3. Ogier 193, 4. Latvala 146, 5. P. Solberg 110, 6. Ostberg 70, 7. Sordo 57, 8. Wilson 53, 9. H. Solberg 44, 10. Raikkonen 34, etc.
Driving a Citroen DS3 WRC, Loeb maintained his overnight advantage for his seventh win in Spain and his fifth of the season alongside co-driver Daniel Elena. In doing so he helped Citroen wrap-up the manufacturers’ title for a seventh time.
Jari-Matti Latvala began the final day in a strong second place following an inspired performance behind the wheel of his Ford Fiesta RS WRC, which he described as his best performance on asphalt.
However, with team-mate Hirvonen needing to maximize his points total in a bid to prevent Loeb from claiming his eighth world title, Latvala stepped aside for his fellow Finn for the third event in a row.
“We have had a really good weekend, but coming from three bad rallies I could not believe this result before we came to the end,” said Loeb. “Mikko has taken a lot of points so we stay very close in the championship.”
Dani Sordo gave the thousands of Spanish fans lining the route reason to cheer as he finished fourth in his MINI John Cooper Works WRC. Sebastien Ogier had been closing on the local hero when his Citroen suffered an engine-related failure on the penultimate stage.
Classification:
1. Sébastien Loeb (Citroen DS3) en 4h05’39’’3
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Fiesta) + 2’06’’9
3. Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Fiesta) + 2’32’’4
4. Dani Sordo (Mini Cooper) + 3’24’’1
5. Kris Meeke (Mini Cooper) +5’15’’0
6. Mads Ostberg (Ford Fiesta Stobart) + 5’54’’2
7. Evgeny Novikov (Citroen DS3 CRT) + 9’31’’8
8. Henning Solberg (Ford Fiesta Stobart) + 9’40’’1
Etc.
Championship:
1. Loeb 222 points, 2. Hirvonen 214, 3. Ogier 193, 4. Latvala 146, 5. P. Solberg 110, 6. Ostberg 70, 7. Sordo 57, 8. Wilson 53, 9. H. Solberg 44, 10. Raikkonen 34, etc.