Sébastien Ogier (Citroen DS3) won the Rally Germany ahead of his teammate Sébastien Loeb, who lost one minute on a puncture on Saturday.
Ogier began the last stage on Sunday with a 1:11.000 second advantage over Loeb, and finally concluded the race 39.8 seconds ahead of the seven time World Champion.
For Loeb, it is the end of a winning streak at Rally Germany. He had won every event since the venue was included to the WRC championship in 2002. It was also the site of its first victory in the championship.
After this victory, Ogier moves up to second position in the standing, while Loeb is still leading the provisional classification, with four rounds remaining to the 2011 season.
Dani Sordo took the first podium finish for Mini since the British brand made its return in WRC. The Spanish driver moved up to third on Saturday after a great fight with Hirvonen’s Ford, and was able to maintain this position on Sunday.
That was a tough rally for the Ford Fiesta. Mikko Hirvonen was fourth after he had a contact in the very first stage of the rally, then suffered engine troubles.
Jari-Matti Latvala also experiences engine issues, then crashed out on Saturday. But he was able to finish the rally in 14th position.
Petter Solberg had a good weekend aboard his private Citroen DS3. The Norwegian driver finished fifth ahead of the other private DS3 driven by Kimi Raikkonen, who secured his best WRC finish in sixth.
Rally Germany – Final classification:
1. Ogier-Ingrassia (Citroen DS3 Wrc) in 3.32'15”9
2. Loeb-Elena (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 39”8
3. Sordo-Del Barrio (Mini Cooper Wrc) + 1'55”6
4. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 2'43”7
5. P. Solberg-Patterson (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 3'47”6
6. Raikkonen-Lindstrom (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 7'24”6
7. H.Solberg-Petrasco (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 7'45”9
8. Araujo-Ramalho (Mini Cooper Wrc) + 9'29”8
9. van Merksteijn-Mombaerts (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 10'01”6
10. Kuipers-Miclotte (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 10'09”0
Etc.
Championship: 1. Loeb 192 points, 2. Ogier 167, 3. Hirvonen 156, 4. Latvala 96, 5. P. Solberg 94, 6. Ostberg 56, 7. M. Wilson 40, 8. Raikkonen 34, 9. H. Solberg 32, 10. Sordo 23, etc.
Ogier began the last stage on Sunday with a 1:11.000 second advantage over Loeb, and finally concluded the race 39.8 seconds ahead of the seven time World Champion.
For Loeb, it is the end of a winning streak at Rally Germany. He had won every event since the venue was included to the WRC championship in 2002. It was also the site of its first victory in the championship.
After this victory, Ogier moves up to second position in the standing, while Loeb is still leading the provisional classification, with four rounds remaining to the 2011 season.
Dani Sordo took the first podium finish for Mini since the British brand made its return in WRC. The Spanish driver moved up to third on Saturday after a great fight with Hirvonen’s Ford, and was able to maintain this position on Sunday.
That was a tough rally for the Ford Fiesta. Mikko Hirvonen was fourth after he had a contact in the very first stage of the rally, then suffered engine troubles.
Jari-Matti Latvala also experiences engine issues, then crashed out on Saturday. But he was able to finish the rally in 14th position.
Petter Solberg had a good weekend aboard his private Citroen DS3. The Norwegian driver finished fifth ahead of the other private DS3 driven by Kimi Raikkonen, who secured his best WRC finish in sixth.
Rally Germany – Final classification:
1. Ogier-Ingrassia (Citroen DS3 Wrc) in 3.32'15”9
2. Loeb-Elena (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 39”8
3. Sordo-Del Barrio (Mini Cooper Wrc) + 1'55”6
4. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 2'43”7
5. P. Solberg-Patterson (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 3'47”6
6. Raikkonen-Lindstrom (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 7'24”6
7. H.Solberg-Petrasco (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 7'45”9
8. Araujo-Ramalho (Mini Cooper Wrc) + 9'29”8
9. van Merksteijn-Mombaerts (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 10'01”6
10. Kuipers-Miclotte (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 10'09”0
Etc.
Championship: 1. Loeb 192 points, 2. Ogier 167, 3. Hirvonen 156, 4. Latvala 96, 5. P. Solberg 94, 6. Ostberg 56, 7. M. Wilson 40, 8. Raikkonen 34, 9. H. Solberg 32, 10. Sordo 23, etc.