Wales Rally GB : Loeb strikes Kiwi gold

Loeb strikes Kiwi gold

Loeb

31 August 2008, 9:11 am

Sébastien Loeb walked away victorious from this year's Repco Rally New Zealand, following a sensational four way battle for the lead, a disastrous penultimate Whaanga Coast stage for the works Ford team - and a second leg bout of team orders. Second, just 17.5 seconds shy of his team mate at the end, was Dani Sordo, making it an emphatic one two for Citroen. It was Loeb's 44th WRC win of his career.

The final day had brought initial dramas for Loeb, when a spin on the opening test dropped the Frenchman down to fourth place. It seemed like the Frenchman was to lose out down under again, having missed out on victory in '07 by a mere 0.3 seconds. Yet, the penultimate stage of this year's event brought heartbreak for the BP Ford Abu Dhabi drivers of Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala. Hirvonen lost 50 seconds with a puncture and a spin, eventually bringing his battered Focus home behind the two Citroens, while Latvala endured yet more frustration, retiring with damage to his radiator.

Typically, Loeb was sporting at the end: "I needed to win for sure, and that's very nice, but I'm not happy for what happened to Mikko because he was doing really well and it was a good battle. But okay; it's a race and these things happen sometimes."

The victory sees Loeb extend his lead to eight points at the top of the drivers' championship battle, while Citroen is now twenty points in front of Ford in the manufacturers' table.

With a delighted Sordo second and disconsolate Hirvonen third, fourth place was picked up by Subaru's Petter Solberg, co-driven as ever by Welsh superstar, Phil Mills. Solberg takes up the story of a dramatic last day: "It's been a tough rally for us but fourth place is good after this weekend. What an incredible finish, the Whaanga stage was like a scrap yard! Today the car felt the best it has this weekend, so we are definitely making steps in the right direction but it's taking a little time. Of course, we are here for winning though so we have some more steps to take, but we have to lift our heads now and keep working so we can start to fight at the front."

Fifth place was Urmo Aava's Citroen, while Per-Gunnar Andersson and Toni Gardemeister brought their Suzukis home in sixth and seventh, for a morale-boosting haul of points for the Suzuki World Rally Team.

Federico Villagra aboard his Munchi's supported Ford Focus was a brake-troubled eighth, with team-mate Henning Solberg, delayed so badly on the first day with power steering issues, taking ninth. In a charge back from 45th, Solberg set seven fastest stage times in one of his most impressive performances on the WRC stage to date. The top ten was completed by a strong performance from Production class winner Martin Prokop, with Britain Matthew Wilson running well down the order following gearbox problems on leg one.

For Repco Rally New Zealand results and news: www.rallynz.org.nz

For latest standings in the FIA World Rally Championship, news, video clips, etc: www.wrc.com

WRC Manufacturer Team websites:

BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team www.bpfordwrc.com

Citroën Total World Rally Team www.citroen-wrc.com

Munchi's Ford World Rally Team www.munchis.com.ar

Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team www.stobartmotorsport.com

Suzuki World Rally Team www.suzukisport.com/wrc

Subaru World Rally Team www.swrt.com

Other WRC websites:

Pirelli - WRC www.pirellityre.com

For details of Rallye de Espana (2 - 5 October), the 12th event in the 15-round FIA World Rally Championship,
visit info.rallyracc.com

Sebastien Loeb has won Rallye Monte-Carlo for a sixth time following a dominant performance behind the wheel of the Citroen DS3 WRC he shares with Monegasque co-driver Daniel Elena.

Of the 74 starters who began Wales Rally GB in Llandudno on Thursday 10th November, 40 were classified at the end of the four-day,1860 kms rally which featured 23 timed special stages as it wound its way from the North coast to the ceremonial finish in Cardiff.

As this year's Wales Rally GB - the final and deciding round of the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship - draws to a close, Business Minister, Edwina Hart has announced a funding package of £1.4 million for the 2012 event.

Useful Contacts

Welsh Government

World Rally Championship

Information on Cardiff

Conwy and Llandudno

Further Information

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