It was a bitter-sweet weekend for Finn Jari-Matti Latvala and his BP-Ford teammates at the season-closing Rally of Great Britain in Wales, as title-contender Mikko Hirvonen retired at the end of day 1 – effectively handing the drivers’ championship to Citroen’s Sebastien Loeb – but still pulling off a victory after Loeb crashed out yesterday.
Despite his promising form in previous seasons, Latvala struggled to capture a win this year – but was consistent with podium finishes – earning fourth in the overall standings for the season.
“It’s a great way to end the season. It has been a long time since my last win and I’ve endured some frustrating times since then, but they’re now over. Everything came together during the second half of the season and I’m so pleased to win here. It’s my 10th Rally GB and it’s the rally where I began my WRC career in 2002, so it feels like a home event for me,” Latvala said.
Even though Loeb effectively clinched his eighth world title when Mikko Hirvonen’s Fiesta WRC was damaged beyond repair after hitting a tree stump, the French champion fought it out with Hirvonen’s teammate Latvala with seconds in it – until he collided with a non-competitor on a public road. Still, with Hirvonen unable to score points, he earned yet another title as the most successful driver in the history of motorsport.
“All the titles are important and memorable as they’re never put together in the same way. This season, the overall level was very high and we had to fight right down till the last rally. I’m proud to have become the most-titled racing driver, even if one shouldn’t really try and compare the different branches of the (motor) sport. I never thought I’d achieve this when I started my career,” Loeb exclaimed.
The weekend was also unsuccessful for Loeb’s teammate Sebastien Ogier, who had also been in an accident on day 1, but was able to continue the rally. These factors seemingly left the door open for Stobart M-Sport’s Mads Ostberg and Henning Solberg to place second and third in their Fiesta WRCs respectively.
It still wasn’t easy for Solberg, who had to deal with Mini’s Kris Meeke, who was only seconds behind after applying pressure to the podium-chasing Norwegian for the remainder of the event, but eventually settled for fourth.
“Hopefully there is a bigger future for us than fighting for third overall, as in a year’s time we want to be able to fight for a win. I feel very positive about the season as for a new car and a new team to be in there challenging for podiums is fantastic,” summarised Meeke.
Next year, the WRC season starts early with a return to Monte Carlo after a three-year hiatus, followed by the snow in Sweden and a proper gravel rally in Mexico – all the surfaces in the first three races of the season. With Loeb announcing that he’ll be with Citroen till 2013, it’ll be interesting to see how the champion plans to add to his already impressive haul of eight world championships and 67 wins.
Rally Monte Carlo happens in the 17-22 January.