Three-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb has won Rallye Deutschland for a record sixth consecutive time. He made history in 2002, when he claimed his official maiden WRC victory on the German asphalt, and has dominated the event ever since.
Loeb showed his brilliance as a tarmac expert early in the first leg of the rally, but rain showers stymied his progress. Citroën then picked the wrong type for the tricky conditions, and, while the Frenchman tried to make tracks with exceptional driving on less than optimal rubber, his C4 eventually fell behind the Xsara of Kronos OMV driver Francois Duval.
However, the Belgian spun his Citroën on the first stage of leg two, which meant that Loeb regained the lead. By the beginning of the third leg, Loeb adopted a conservative driving approach to defend his lead and didn’t attempt to claim any stage wins. Even though Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena exercised caution, Loeb’s lead over the field was a comfortable 20 seconds by the end of the event.
The Frenchman’s 33rd win moved him to within eight points of current championship leader, Marcus Gronholm (on 80 points), and helped the Citroën Total World Rally Team increase its manufacturer’s points tally to 102 points.
“It’s always nice to win this event”, said Loeb. "It is based close to my home region of Alsace and it’s the event that gave me my first WRC win in 2002, so it is something very special.”
Many consider the dogfight for second place to be the most entertaining aspect of the rally. BP-Ford’s Gronholm held second place for much of the final leg, but misfortune struck when the Finn’s Focus narrowly missed a cow that had wandered into the road. Gronholm then went wide into a turn and clipped a wall, which damaged his suspension. Gronholm managed to finish the stage after a quick fix, but not before Duval grabbed second and Mikko Hirvonen moved into third.
Second-placed Duval’s blistering pace kept the pressure on Gronholm. Although he couldn’t match Loeb’s pace throughout the entire event, the Belgian won all of the final day’s stages. The performance marked Duval’s return to the WRC and the Xsara’s second place finish was the best for OMV Kronos to date.
“We once more tried everything on the final day and it paid off,” said Duval. “The fight right up to the last kilometre was great fun.”
Third-placed Hirvonen gambled on his tyre choice hoping that he could catch Duval in the rain. Unfortunately for Hirvonen, the rain never came, and although it looked like fourth was the best the BP-Ford driver would manage, he capitalised on Gronholm’s mistake on the final stage. It was only the second time in the season that Hirvonen and his co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen finished higher than his more-experienced team-mate, but the young Finn stays in third for points, now nine behind Loeb.
Even after the wandering cow ruined his day, Gronholm still managed to finish fourth. His driver’s championship lead over Loeb has grown smaller, but the BP-Ford World Rally Team still leads the manufacturers’ championship with 143 points. Next up on the calendar is Rally New Zealand, taking the WRC to a traditional type of gravel rally with smooth roads flowing over lush and green hills.
Watch highlights of Rally Deutschland on CSN/SS2 at 7pm on Monday, August 20
