It seems nothing and nobody can shake reigning world champion off the top of the WRC pedestal, as Sebastien Loeb notched his fourth consecutive victory of the 2009 season – perfect form in the first four events of the season.
The Frenchman pushed his Citroën C4 hard during the second day to catch the Focus of championship rival Mikko Hirvonen of BP-Ford – who only trails by 10 points with 30 thus far – to claim the lead, and didn’t put a foot wrong all the way to the final stage on day three.
“Today’s result takes our score to four wins from four rounds, which is the best start to a season we have ever made. We made a small error on day one which forced us to push hard to make up for lost ground, but the second leg went perfectly for us and we were able to control from in front this morning,” Loeb said on Sunday.
Hirvonen and the rest of the field continued to try and stop Loeb from scooping up record after record, but just as the Finn sensed a win during the third leg, he had to play second fiddle because of the dusty conditions and settled for #2.
“It was incredibly dusty this morning. I started the day thinking a win was possible but the dust hung in the cool air and I realised after the opening stage that in those conditions I had no chance of catching Loeb. “It’s frustrating to see Loeb on top again but I’m not giving up on the championship title just yet – we are only a third of the way through the season. I go to every event hoping to win and without him I would do that,” declared Hirvonen.
Loeb’s team-mate, Spaniard Dani Sordo, kept Citroën in the fight for the manufacturers’ crown with the final podium spot – not an easy feat with former world champion Petter Solberg breathing down his neck in fourth.
“As soon as it became clear that I wouldn’t be able to catch Mikko today, I decided not to take any risks. I felt very comfortable with my car throughout the rally, and that’s a good omen for the rounds which come next,” said Sordo.
The brothers Sordo put on a good show as Petter chased Sordo for third, while Henning Solberg battled fellow Stobart M-Sport driver Matthew Wilson for fifth until Wilson rolled his Focus on the penultimate stage.
“I’m very pleased with this result, it give us more important points for the drivers’ championship and also for the Stobart team. But I’m not happy about the way it happened and it’s a real shame for Matthew. We tried to battle with him this morning but it was over before it had even begun. Our screen misted up badly and we had to stop for a while to let it clear, but the dust was also a lot worse on the last day, very patchy and inconsistent,” said Solberg.
The next event is Rally Argentina (24-26 April) the only round of WRC held in South America. Will Loeb continue to dominate, or will the BP-Ford onslaught throw the Frenchman off his game?