Loeb dominates Deutschland
Sébastien Loeb has emphatically secured his eighth successive Rally Deutschland victory.
Based in the German town of Trier, the rally featured some of the toughest challenges the crews will face this year including the monster 48km Panzerplatter stage and the infamous hinkelsteins lining the route.
Loeb charged ahead on Friday winning 4 out of 6 stages as 2003 champion Petter Solberg fell by the wayside with punctures in the first and final stages of the day, leaving him with it all to do on Saturdays run through.
Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen was the first of the front-runners to encounter problems on Saturday as his Focus suffered transmission failure during stage 13. He was unable to restart leaving him wondering where it has all gone wrong this year.
Francois Duval was looking to make an impression on the WRC world this weekend after two years away from the sport however his rally also ended prematurely when his Stobart Ford Focus landed heavily upside down on the hinkelsteins – both crew members went to hospital for checks and co-driver Denis Giraudet was subsequently found to have broken his ribs.
As day 3 dawned the battle for 6th position was hotting up with Stobart’s Matthew Wilson and former Formula One champion Kimi Räikkönen trading places throughout the weekend – the young Brit came out in front. But it was Räikkönen who provided the biggest shock of the weekend as he clinched his first WRC stage win in only his third tarmac rally.
Fellow rookie, Monster World Rally teams, Ken Block wasn’t quite so lucky when his Ford ground to a halt on a road section – alternator failure ensured Block yet again fails to score points.
However, it was Loeb who supremely finished with 52 seconds in hand over his closest rival – Citroen teammate Dani Sordo.
As we’ve seen previously this year Citroen locked-out the podium again with Sordo and Sébastien Ogier taking second and third respectively.
Loeb’s maximum score of 25 points means he could tie up his record breaking seventh world title in his hometown, when the World Rally Championship moves to France in October.
The next round of the WRC will be held in Japan and run 10th-12th September.
Through Shakedown And Stage 