Loeb Signs Off in Winning Style

Sebastien Loeb marked his final outing as a full-time driver in the FIA World Rally Championship with the 76th victory of his career on RallyRACC-Rally de Espana, which finished in Salou on Sunday afternoon following three days of thrilling competition.

After struggling for pace through Friday’s rain-hit, mainly gravel tests, Loeb moved in front on the asphalt of day two and remained at the head of the field thereafter in his Citroen Total World Rally Team DS3 WRC.

The win, shared with co-driver Daniel Elena, was their eighth in Spain and the 250th in the WRC for tyre partner Michelin.

Jari-Matti Latvala signed-off as a factory Ford driver in second place with Mikko Hirvonen third in the second works Citroen. Latvala’s finishing position and victory on the Power Stage this afternoon earned sufficient points to land third in the final drivers’ table ahead of Mads Ostberg, who led after day one but slipped back on day two with set-up issues and a costly spin.

“For sure I really wanted to win this rally,” said Loeb, who is targeting a partial programme of WRC events in 2013 as he revs up for a planned assault on the FIA World Touring Car Championship with Citroen two years from now. “We were really struggling in the start because it was really tricky on the first day. On the Tarmac I was able to take the lead but today was not easy because we had some strange tyre choice and Jari-Matti was pushing very hard and getting closer.”

Loeb opted for a combination of soft and hard compound Michelin covers for Sunday’s closing trio of stages in the belief it would be raining in the middle test - the 26.51-kilometre Santa Marina Power Stage.

However, while it was damp in sections due to light drizzle, the anticipated heavy deluge didn’t materialise and Loeb’s tyre choice proved far from ideal for the conditions. Latvala, meanwhile, opted for hard compound tyres and set two fastest stage times to narrow Loeb’s winning margin to seven seconds.

“I would like to have done one more stage because it has been good to fight with Loeb,” said Latvala, who will join Volkswagen Motorsport from 2013 as his former team M-Sport prepares for a new era following Ford’s decision to end its WRC sponsorship. “I have had some fantastic years with Ford and thanks to Malcolm Wilson for being so supportive even though I’ve had many crashes.”

Ford privateer Mads Ostberg finished fourth, 9.6s behind Hirvonen, with Jarkko Nikara moving up to a fine fifth after Ott Tanak and Hans Weijs both crashed out. Craig Breen secured the Super 2000 World Rally Championship crown in a career-best sixth overall with Chris Atkinson seventh for WRC Team MINI Portugal.

P-G Andersson finished eighth for PROTON with Dani Sordo battling back to ninth following early delays. But it was a case of what might have been for the Spaniard, who won a total of six stages, including four on Sunday, in his Prodrive-run MINI. Evgeny Novikov beat Petter Solberg to the final drivers’ championship point in tenth despite a 10-minute penalty when the tread depth of his soft-compound DMACK tyres was found to be under the 1.6-milimetre minimum requirement due to excessive wear on Saturday afternoon’s dry stages.

Next year’s WRC season fires into life on Rallye Monte-Carlo on 15 January 2013, 65 days from now.

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Loeb Faces RallyRACC Choice

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Sebastien Loeb admits it won't be easy to make the right choice when it comes to selecting his road position for the opening day of RallyRACC-Rally de  España.

Loeb, of the Citroen Total World Rally Team, has earned the right to choose his position for Friday’s mainly gravel stages first at the selection ceremony in Barcelona at 17:30hrs local time today after he set the fastest time on the Qualifying Stage this morning.

“I was thinking this morning that it wouldn’t make such a difference if I was the first, second or third or fourth to pick my place [on the road],” said Loeb. “When I think to the first day and where I will run on the road, we have to remember that even if the rain doesn’t come, the road this morning was damp. It’s not the easy choice and we have to think about the asphalt as well. This is not straightforward: Jari-Matti [Latvala] and Mikko [Hirvonen] both have very strong pace for this rally and we have to be wary of them.”

Of his performance on the 2.94-kilometre run, Loeb added: “I was not pushing very, very hard to make the fastest time this morning, but in the end it has happened.”

Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena will receive a special trophy in recognition of their achievements in Spain. They made their WRC debut in the country in 1999 and have won the event seven times. RACC president Sebastia Salvado will make the presentation outside Barcelona cathedral.

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Loeb Takes 9th WRC Title

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Sebastien Loeb secured his ninth FIA World Rally Championship crown - and Citroen's eighth manufacturers' title success - with WRC career victory number 75 on Rallye de France Alsace today.

In emotional scenes at the finish of the final stage in his hometown of Haguenau, Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena celebrated victory by 15.5s ahead of factory Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala.

“It’s incredible,” said Loeb, whose title was the 20th drivers’ crown scored by tyre firm Michelin. “We were dreaming about this moment at the start of the rally having lived this two years ago. Now we are here again with the victory and the championship in front of all these wonderful people. It’s not possible to get better than this, it was a dream all weekend in front of all these fans. We couldn’t believe the atmosphere two years ago, it was amazing then and it’s amazing now.”

With rain affecting the morning loop of three stages, and mud and damp sections a constant menace in the afternoon, Loeb, Latvala and Mikko Hirvonen - in the second factory Citroen and the only driver capable of denying Loeb the title - drove with caution throughout the day to finish in that order, a result that thrilled Latvala.

“To be honest it is my best Tarmac result,” said the Finn. “I have never ever been so close to Sebastien Loeb on a Tarmac rally if you think about the overall gap so I need to be happy.”

Citroen Junior driver Thierry Neuvile was less circumspect than the leading trio, claiming a total of five stage wins as he climbed from sixth to fourth in impressive fashion, demoting Mads Ostberg and Dani Sordo in the process.

Adapta Fiesta pilot Ostberg took fifth - his best result on asphalt - but Sordo dropped out after a heavy impact on the sump guard of his MINI John Cooper Works WRC on stage 18 bent the engine mounting and moved the power steering pump, resulting in a lost of power steering fluid and failure on the Haguenau street stage.

Ott Tanak won the Power Stage in a strong sixth overall. M-Sport Fiesta team-mate Evgeny Novikov lost almost three minutes on stage 18 when he rolled into a field and suffered considerable delay trying to regain the road. Miraculously, Novikov’s car suffered cosmetic damage only and he was able to finish seventh.

Chris Atkinson finished eighth for WRC Team MINI Portugal with Martin Prokop ninth and Sebastien Chardonnet an impressive 10th on his first run in a DS3 WRC in the world championship.

Sebastien Ogier beat team-mate and fellow Skoda Fabia Super 2000 driver Andreas Mikkelsen to 11th overall in the battle to be top Volkswagen Motorsport driver. Multiple World Touring Car champion Yvan Muller was 14th after going fourth quickest on stage 18. Former Le Mans 24 Hours winner Romain Dumas finished 16th in a similar MINI.

Brazil World Rally Team’s Daniel Oliveira went off the road on stage 18, while countryman Paulo Nobre failed to complete stage 21. Petter Solberg restarted under Rally 2 rules following his crash on day two but finished outside of the top 20 in his works Ford. However, there was no restart for Qatar World Rally Team’s Nasser Al-Attiyah after he also went off the road on Saturday.

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Winning is Not Everything - Loeb

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Sebastien Loeb has been mobbed like Jesus on Rallye de France Alsace, but he's not going to go all-out for victory on his home event, however much his disciples might want him to.

In fact, he doesn’t care where he finishes at all - as long as it’s ahead of his Citroen team-mate Mikko Hirvonen: his only opposition for the FIA World Rally Championship.

“The only person I’m bothered about is Mikko, he is the only rival I have and I’m not too bothered about the others,” said Loeb, who had to clamber over the bonnet of his recce car to get in while doing the recce for the Haguenau stage earlier this week, such were the crowds around him.

“If I can win the rally it’s obviously better, but I’m really not going to risk everything to do this,” he added. “If I’m in a close fight with Latvala, for example, and the others are far behind I can finish second, no problem. There’s no obligation to win so I will see how I feel.”

Worryingly for his rivals though, the Frenchman pointed out that he didn’t necessarily have to try and win in order to take a victory.

“I ended up winning in Finland and Germany while being in the same frame of mind, so we’ll just see what happens,” he explained. “Some people say that I need to win because it’s the last time I’m coming here but that’s not true. There is a certain pressure and we want to do well but with time and experience I’ve learned to manage that pressure so now it’s fine.”

For the moment, Loeb doesn’t have to think about it at all because he has a lead of 13.1s starting Saturday’s stages - but even if he didn’t, it’s not the end of the world. Even for an eight-time world champion, winning isn’t everything.

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Loeb Makes Asphalt in Deutschland

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Sebastien Loeb marked the 10th anniversary of ADAC Rallye Deutschland's elevation to the FIA World Rally Championship by winning the asphalt event for a ninth time in the Citroen DS3 WRC he shares with co-driver Daniel Elena.

Loeb won the opening stage on Friday morning to take a lead he would never relinquish following a dominant display in changeable weather conditions. The result was his seventh victory of 2012 - his fifth in succession - and hands him a 54-point title lead heading to Wales Rally GB next month.

“It was a hard rally, the conditions were extremely difficult, which meant I had some very difficult tyre choices to make,” said the 38-year-old, who claimed a total of nine stage wins during the course of the three-day event in Trier, including the Sunday’s first rain-hit test, Dhrontal, and the Circus Maximus Power Stage in Trier. “We had a good drive, a perfect car and I made no mistake. Winning the Power Stage also meant this was a perfect weekend. I also had a lot of support from the fans.”

Loeb’s only cause for concern occurred on the repeat of Dhrontal when he reported a slight lack of turbo response, which led to him mistakenly fearing that he would be unable to fight for the three bonus points awarded to the Power Stage winner.

Jari-Matti Latvala was the leading Ford finisher in second - his best result on asphalt in the WRC - with Mikko Hirvonen making it two Citroen runners on the podium in third despite not showing the kind of speed that has carried him to 14 WRC victories in the past. Latvala’s only cause for concern on day three occurred when the bonnet of his Fiesta RS WRC began to lift on stage 13, while Hirvonen spent the day conducting set-up work.

Mads Ostberg finished fourth for the Adapta World Rally Team with Chris Atkinson a strong fifth in his debut for WRC Team MINI Portugal. Sebastien Ogier shone for Volkswagen Motorsport, guiding the German firm’s Super 2000-specification Skoda Fabia to sixth overall with team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen next up. The undoubted highlight for Norwegian Mikkelsen was his capture of the third fastest time on the Power Stage.

Ott Tanak restarted under Rally 2 rules following his exit on Saturday’s closing test and finished ninth on the road behind London 2012 Olympics bronze medallist Nasser Al-Attiyah, who was fourth fastest on the Power Stage on his WRC comeback with the Qatar World Rally Team. However, the Estonian was withdrawn from the event to enable the fitting of key linked components for the next asphalt event in France.

That decision by the M-Sport Ford squad meant Dani Sordo took ninth on his return under Rally 2 rules in Prodrive’s MINI John Cooper Works WRC, the Spaniard moving ahead of French Peugeot 207 driver Mathieu Arzeno in the closing stages.

Petter Solberg followed Arzeno home in 11th, the ex-world champion restarting following repairs to his factory Fiesta when he crashed on day two. Solberg left first service in Trier this morning having set up his car with the aim of challenging for Power Stage glory only for a few mistakes on the slippery surface to hold him back.

Thierry Neuville lost a few seconds with a brief loss of traction exiting a hairpin on stage 13 before he stopped to change a puncture two kilometres into the following test. Russian Evgeny Novikov retired with a broken rear differential after stage 13.

Sepp Wiegand’s outside hopes of a top 10 finish were dashed when the young German talent spent several minutes repairing a damaged wishbone on Sunday’s first stage.

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Loeb Leads Neste Oil Rally Finland

Five seconds will separate Citroen chargers Sebastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen in the race for success on Neste Oil Rally Finland, round eight of the FIA World Rally Championship, which concludes with six ultra-fast gravel stages on Saturday.

Loeb and Hirvonen have fought a close battle for glory throughout day two in their factory DS3 WRCs. While Loeb has remained in front, a rear differential glitch and a rare driving error on today’s penultimate test have helped to ensure the flying Hirvonen remains firmly in the fight for victory.

“It’s a long final day tomorrow and we will see what we can do,” said Loeb. “The gap is so small, it will be a hard fight but we have to do it correctly.”

Hirvonen, chasing his first win for Citroen and his second on home soil, said: “I was pushing really hard and so was Sebastien. Little by little I have taken time out of him. It will be a big fight tomorrow but I am confident.”

Jari-Matti Latvala is the top Ford driver in third overall although the Finn admits his pace has not been fast enough to threaten the top two crews. “I did only one mistake but the time is not there and there is nothing else I can do,” said Latvala. “Anything can happen but I can’t take any more speed anywhere.”

Petter Solberg, in the second works Ford is fourth after going fastest on the penultimate test. His fellow Norwegian Mads Ostberg is a strong fifth despite set-up issues in the morning and brake issues in the afternoon. Ostberg had been in a close battle with Thierry Neuville until the Citroen Junior driver failed to hear a pace note on the penultimate stage and roll into a retirement.

Ott Tanak is sixth after a cautious run through the afternoon stages after he used his only spare tyre following a puncture on the repeat of the Mokkipera test. Jari Ketomaa has been dogged by a persistent misfire for much of the day but completes in seventh place for Autotek Motorsport. Matti Rantanen is eighth with Martin Prokop ninth and Ken Block climbing to 10th for the Monster World Rally Team.

“I was absolutely loving the stages on the second pass,” said the Gymkhana star, who moved ahead of Sebastien Ogier when the Volkswagen Motorsport driver was slowed by a front-right suspension failure. “I had confidence with the pace notes and after being called a grandma by my engineer for my slower driving this morning I knew I had to do more in the afternoon.”

Chris Atkinson was in eighth overall, having lost time with an intercom glitch this morning, when he left the road on stage eight after mishearing a pace note. He lost several minutes when his Qatar World Rally Team Citroen got stuck on a tree stump. The Australian eventually retired from the day when he damaged the front-right of his car striking a rock on stage nine.

Evgeny Novikov was also out of luck, rolling twice on stage two. Despite inflicting significant cosmetic damage to his Fiesta he was able to continue although his co-driver Denis Giraudet spent the rest of the day nursing a sore back, the result of a heavy landing on the today’s opening test.

Riku Tahko is the leading MINI John Cooper Works WRC driver despite spinning at a junction on the penultimate test. Armindo Araujo was able to make improvements to the set-up of his WRC Team MINI Portugal entry. However, his team-mate Paulo Nobre retired on stage 10 when he went off the road and got stuck.

Loeb Early Leader of Rally Final

Sebastien Loeb leads Neste Oil Rally Finland, round eight of the FIA World Rally Championship, following the opening three special stages around Lahti this evening.

Driving a Citroen Total World Rally Team DS3 WRC, the eight-time world champion holds an advantage of 7.3s ahead of Friday’s action getting underway with the 12.75-kilometre Urria stage at 07:42hrs local time.

Loeb, who chose to run 10th on the road following Wednesday night’s Qualifying Stage, set the pace through the opening Koukunmaa run to take a lead of 1.6s to the Jokimaa superspecial, which Petter Solberg won in his Ford World Rally Team Fiesta RS WRC to narrow the Frenchman’s advantage to 1.5s.

But a stunning time by Loeb through stage three, the 14.22-kilometre Mynnila test, has enabled the world championship leader to edge slightly clear in his bid for a third victory in Finland.

“I feel well in the car at the moment and I tried really hard,” said Loeb. “I know I can fight for the victory, the feeling was good and I took the opportunity to go flat out. But there are a lot of Finnish drivers wanting the victory as well so I will try my best.”

Finns Jari-Matti Latvala and Mikko Hirvonen are tied on time in second and third places respectively with Solberg slipping to sixth after he struggled through stage three with traction issues. Rising stars Mads Ostberg, who was second fastest through stage three, and Thierry Neuville - third quickest on stage one - are fourth and fifth respectively heading to the overnight halt in Jyvaskyla.

Australian Chris Atkinson, driving a DS3 WRC for the first time, was satisfied with his pace on his first start in Finland since 2008 and only his second appearance of the 2012 season. He is seventh overall ahead of Russian Evgeny Novikov and Estonia’s Ott Tanak. Meanwhile, Jari Ketomaa said he struggled for rear-end grip on high-speed corners, which resulted in a few brief off-road moments. The Finn completes the top 10 for the Autotek Motorsport squad.

Matti Rantanen stalled the engine of his Fiesta at the start of stage one before opting for a cautious approach on his first event since Rally Finland 12 months ago. He is 14th overnight. Ken Block momentarily tipped his Monster World Rally Team Fiesta onto two wheels when he ran wide into a bank on the opening test. The Rally Finland newcomer and Gymkhana star, who is 17th overall, said he needed to work on improving his pace notes.

Finnish privateer Riku Tahko, competing in a World Rally Car for the first time, was the fastest of the three MINI John Cooper Works WRCs through stage one as WRC Team MINI Portugal drivers Armindo Araujo and Paulo Nobre concentrated on refining set-up and gaining confidence with their pace notes on the high-speed gravel stages. However, Tahko dropped behind Araujo on stage three as he struggled to see through his windscreen - damaged on the superspecial - in the low-lying sun.

Sebastian Lindholm, the 51-year-old Finnish veteran, spent the day opening the road at the head of the field in his privateer Fiesta and reported that he struggled in the slippery conditions caused by the loose surface gravel. Martin Prokop also complained about the lack of grip starting sixth on the road. The Czech is 11th overall, one place ahead of Volkswagen Motorsport’s Sebastien Ogier.

Impressive Finnish wildcard Esapekka Lappi, 21, moved into the lead of the Super 2000 World Rally Championship division with the fastest category time on the Jokimaa superspecial in Lahti and extended his advantage over title leader Hayden Paddon with another strong run through Mynnila. PROTON driver P-G Andersson is third in class with Craig Breen fourth.

Elfyn Evans topped the FIA WRC Academy after two stages with a lead of 5.3s over fellow Briton Alastair Fisher.

Loeb Wins X Games in California

Citroen superstar Sebastien Loeb extended his dominance of the FIA World Rally Championship to the rallycross section of X Games in California last weekend.

Frenchman Loeb and his specially built Citroen DS3 XL dominated the final of the event on Sunday afternoon, which ran on a temporary course through the streets of downtown Los Angeles.

The 10-car final had to be restarted after an incident involving another competitor, but Loeb still made it to the first corner ahead and never looked back. He dominated the six-lap race to win by 13 seconds.

Monster World Rally Team driver Ken Block was second in the final, despite running with a puncture for the final three laps.

Racing for the first time in America, Loeb said: “I had a good start and got to the first corner first, which is important because it’s hard to overtake. The car was very good, we had no problems. It was good to win in America.”

Having followed Loeb home on every round of the WRC he has started, Block knew beating the eight-time champion would be a tall order, even in his own country.

Block said: “I’ve been watching him destroy my stage times in the WRC for years now. It’s great to have him come here, but I knew one thing: he would be near the top of the podium. That’s the way it is.”

The rally element of the X Games was marred by two accidents involving Ford Fiesta drivers Marcus Gronholm and fellow Finn Toomas Heikkinen. Gronholm remains in hospital after losing consciousness at the scene, while Heikkenen suffered a broken ankle in his crash.

Loeb Pips Hirvonen in NZ

Sebastien Loeb has extended the lead over his Citroen team-mate Mikko Hirvonen in the FIA World Rally Championship drivers' standings following his win on this weekend's Brother Rally New Zealand.

Finland’s Hirvonen drove a faultless rally at the wheel of a Citroen DS3 WRC to help the Citroen Total World Rally Team claim their third one-two result in a row. Loeb tops the leaderboard with a total of 145 points, 38 points ahead of second-placed Hirvonen.

“It’s been a long weekend and my driving has not been perfect,” admitted eight-time world rally champion Loeb. “We made a few mistakes in the closing Power Stage when we were pushing too hard but the most important thing is that we have won. It was an exciting battle with Mikko [Hirvonen] yesterday but it’s good to leave here with a victory.”

Ford World Rally Team’s Petter Solberg has claimed the final step of the podium with his third place finish in a Ford Fiesta RS WRC. The Norwegian driver lost time due to a wrong tyre choice on the opening day but battled back to finish the event 1m36.4s behind rally winner Loeb.

“I am very happy to have made it through the rally, especially after what happened on the first day,” said Norway’s Solberg at the finish. “We came here to win but a third place is still good so we must be happy with that. The team and the car is fantastic, but we just need to keep going and hopefully one day soon a win will follow.”

Factory Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala had a bitter-sweet finish after claiming maximum points on the event’s closing Power Stage. The Finnish driver was knocked out of winning contention following an off-road excursion on day one but battled back to finish seventh overall.

Russian privateer Evgeny Novikov drove a mature rally in his M-Sport Ford-run Fiesta RS WRC to finish fourth, 37.2s behind Solberg. “It’s been a good weekend for us and our tyre choice has worked well,” said an elated Novikov.

Meanwhile, disaster struck for Rally New Zealand debutant Ott Tanak who had been running fifth for the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team. The Estonian hit trouble on stage 20 when he rolled his Fiesta RS WRC and was forced to retire from the event.

Following a string of stage wins throughout today, Citroen Junior driver Thierry Neuville has shined on his debut in New Zealand. The 24-year-old Belgian finishes the rally in fifth place, and leaves the southern hemisphere with 10 well-deserved drivers’ points.

Despite Dani Sordo’s best efforts, the MINI WRC Team driver was unable to catch Neuville on the final day and reached the finish in sixth place. Fellow MINI John Cooper Works WRC driver Armindo Araujo has claimed eighth, despite suffering from damper-related problems throughout day two.

Returning to the WRC for the first time since Rally Mexico, Ken Block drove his Ford Fiesta RS WRC to ninth place. Block was closely followed by Austrian rally legend Manfred Stohl who rounded off the top ten with his impressive debut in the Fiesta RS WRC.

Loeb Leads New Zealand - Day Two

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Eight-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb has won a day-long battle with Citroen Total World Rally Team's Mikko Hirvonen to finish day two of Brother Rally New Zealand with a slender 6.4s lead over his Finnish team-mate.

Ford World Rally Team driver Petter Solberg started today in fourth but a trouble-free day saw the Norwegian leap-frog fellow Ford Fiesta RS WRC driver Evgeny Novikov to finish third. Solberg now lies 1m26.9s adrift of second-placed Hirvonen.

“We’ve had a good battle with Mikko [Hirvonen] today,” said Frenchman Loeb. “It’s been difficult this afternoon, very slippery and I really don’t like that Girls High School stage. It’s very technical and I lost about eight seconds there this morning. It’s exciting to have a battle with Mikko and tomorrow I will have to push to keep him behind.”

Factory Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala battled back after yesterday’s off-road excursion to claim two fastest stage times. The driver is eighth going into the rally’s final day.

"Today has been okay - we have been working with the set-up of the car and the last two stages have been a lot better for me,” explained 27-year-old Latvala. “Unfortunately my situation is not so great at the moment, but that’s rallying sometimes and I now need to get things together and continue with a positive outlook."

M-Sport Ford driver Ott Tanak is fifth after a polished performance at the wheel of a Ford Fiesta RS WRC whilst Citroen Junior driver Thierry Neuville won a cat-and-mouse game with MINI WRC Team’s Dani Sordo to hold sixth. The 24-year-old Belgian now leads Sordo by 18.7s going into day three.

“We had a good fight with Dani, and tomorrow I must concentrate on keeping him behind us. Everything has been working well for us today - the car is feeling a lot better now and we have really enjoyed these stages,” said Neuville.

Portugal’s Armindo Araujo holds ninth at the wheel of a MINI John Cooper Works WRC despite losing time throughout the day with damper-related problems.

Rounding off the top ten is Monster World Rally Team’s Ken Block who is positively glowing on his return to the WRC. “These are absolutely my favourite stages anywhere in the world,” said the American Gymkhana star at the end of Stage 15.

The final day of Rally New Zealand will challenge the WRC crews with seven special stages that cover 61.33 competitive kilometres. The day will commence with the Burnside/Wech Access test, due to go live at 8:08hrs local time.

Loeb Relishing New Zealand Return

Sebastien Loeb is relishing tackling Brother Rally New Zealand's spectacular gravel stages later this month, even though he concedes fortune hasn't always favoured him on the FIA World Rally Championship qualifier.

Loeb heads to the Southern Hemisphere next week to begin preparing for the seventh round of the WRC in Auckland from 21-24 June. Following his victory on the Acropolis Rally in Greece last month, the Citroen star tops the standings by 30 points as he chases his ninth world title.

“The roads are fast and flowing and driving there is very thrilling I have to say,” said the 38-year-old, a two-time winner in New Zealand. “It’s always been a rally with a lot happening too - sometimes in our favour, sometimes less but an interesting rally.”

Loeb finished third when the WRC last visited New Zealand back in 2010. Victory this year would bring his total number of wins to 72, although the Frenchman admits the rally throws up a number of challenges.

“The roads are different and special with that very typical camber which makes driving particular,” he said. “Driving in New Zealand is different especially because of those cambered roads and it’s unique because it’s really far away, a long journey with jetlag. But the landscape is spectacular with some incredible places.”

Loeb Wins Acropolis Number Three

Sebastien Loeb has joined World Rally Championship powered by Nokia legends Miki Biasion, Walter Rohrl and Carlos Sainz by becoming a three-time winner of the Acropolis Rally following his standout triumph in Loutraki this afternoon.

Piloting a Citroen DS3 WRC alongside co-driver Daniel Elena, Loeb performed faultlessly to secure his 71st career victory after fending off a host of rivals. And by claiming three bonus points for winning the event-closing Power Stage, Loeb’s lead of the WRC drivers’ standings increases to 30 points with seven rounds remaining.

“This rally was so long and difficult,” said Loeb, who survived a scare on stage 20 when he stopped to change a left-rear puncture after three kilometres. “We had some fortune in the morning, but in general we had to fight really hard. It was really good. I tried to always keep my rhythm and do what I felt. I tried to manage the car and the tyres. I believe that everybody has done a great rally, Mikko, Petter and Jari-Matti.”

Petter Solberg started Sunday’s five stages trailing Loeb by 10.2s only to crash out on the opening test in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC. The Norwegian’s misfortune - he tore a rear wheel off his car after striking a tree - promoted Loeb’s team-mate Mikko Hirvonen up to second with Jari-Matti Latvala securing the final podium place in third. The Finn marked his return from injury by claiming 10 fastest stage times. “At least after a long time I’m back on the podium,” he said.

Behind Latvala, Mads Ostberg moved into third overall in the WRC standings by finishing fourth. Martin Prokop and Thierry Neuville also continued their strong scoring runs in fifth and sixth respectively.

Sebastien Ogier took seventh for Volkswagen Motorsport although team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen failed to finish after damaging his car’s suspension on Sunday’s opener.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi impressed by bringing his Fiesta Regional Rally Car home in eighth overall, followed by Ott Tanak and MINI driver Abdulaziz Alkuwari, who, like Al-Rajhi, scored in the world championship for the first time.

Suspected engine problems prevented Evgeny Novikov and Daniel Oliveira from getting through Sunday’s first test. Nasser Al-Attiyah also retired after rolling on the Aghii Theodori stage. WRC Team MINI Portugal duo Armindo Araujo and Paulo Nobre restarted under Rally 2 rules to finish 11th and 17th respectively.

Ukraine’s Oleksii Tamrazov finished 18th on his competition debut in a new-generation World Rally Car.

Loeb Holds Narrow Acropolis Margin

The fight for honours on the Acropolis Rally, round six of the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia, remains finely balanced with Sebastien Loeb holding a narrow margin of 10.2s following a day of high drama in Greece.

Overnight leader Loeb, in a Citroen DS3 WRC, had come under intense pressure from factory Ford pilot Jari-Matti Latvala, who narrowed the French driver’s lead to one second only to suffer a slow puncture while 2.2s behind on stage 14. With Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila stopping to change the damaged wheel, Loeb and navigator Daniel Elena were left seemingly in the clear.

However, a determined effort from Latvala’s Ford team-mate Petter Solberg in increasingly slippery conditions caused by sporadic rain showers, means a fourth win of the season for Loeb is far from guaranteed heading into Sunday’s five stages.

“We will continue to fight tomorrow and see what will happen,” said Loeb. “Today has not been easy and there were times when the conditions were very difficult. But we are still leading and that’s the most important thing.”

Behind Solberg, who could have been closer to Loeb had he not overshot a junction in the rain on stage 16, Mikko Hirvonen holds a distant third place in the second factory Citroen with Latvala down in fourth having lost further ground by completing three stages with only three brakes as a result of the damage caused by his puncture.

Mads Ostberg has fought back up to fifth in his Adapta Fiesta with Martin Prokop sixth. Both drivers benefited when a water pump failure led to Evgeny Novikov’s exit on Saturday morning.

Thierry Neuville is seventh with Sebastien Ogier eighth despite tackling stage 15 without the aid of powersteering on his Volkswagen Motorsport Skoda Fabia Super 2000. Yazeed Al-Rajhi is a strong ninth in his Fiesta RRC.

Andreas Mikkelsen, in a second Volkswagen Skoda, is currently classified in 10th but will be reliant on Rally 2 rules to continue on Sunday after a water leak on stage 16.

Nasser Al-Attiyah retired from seventh when a front driveshaft broke on his Qatar World Rally Team Citroen on stage 14. Armindo Araujo failed to make it through stage 15 after a bent compression strut he was nursing from the previous test gave way on his WRC Team MINI Portugal. Team-mate Paulo Nobre retired on the opening run with broken suspension.

Daniel Oliveira and Ott Tanak restarted under Rally 2 regulations having hit trouble on Friday.

Sunday’s action covers 65.55 kilometres over five special stages the first of which, Aghii Theodori 1, gets underway at 09:14hrs local time.