Citroen’s Sebastien Loeb has recorded his first Jordan Rally win after a dominant performance in round three of the World Rally Championship.
The 36-year-old Frenchman was fastest on nine of the 21 stages to take his second victory of the 2010 season and extend his advantage at the top of the drivers’ classification to 25 points over Ford’s Jari-Matti Latvala, who finished second.
Latvala’s team mate, Mikko Hirvonen, suffered a huge setback on the first stage of day two when he made a mistake and broke his car’s front suspension – handing Loeb a clear advantage in the drivers’ standings.
Loeb said: “It’s been a good rally for us and now I’m 31 points in front of Mikko, which is a great way to start the season. I really had to go flat-out though because Jari-Matti was pushing hard. Even on the last day I nearly went off.”
The final day of the rally was dominated by team tactics, with both Ford and Citroen deliberately incurring road penalties for their number two drivers in the morning so that their team leaders could benefit from a better road position.
Sebastien Ogier, driving for the Citroen Junior Team, dropped from second to sixth after being asked to check in early for the first stage – so that he could run first on the road rather than Loeb. “I have no comment,” said Ogier afterwards. “It’s just how it is.”
Petter Solberg, the 2003 world champion, claimed the final podium place with a strong showing in his privately-run Citroen. His experienced co-driver Phil Mills described the Jordan Rally as “the most technically demanding rally of the championship” due to its constant surface changes and demanding conditions, together with 40-degree heat.
Dani Sordo finished in fourth place, while former Grand Prix driver Kimi Raikkonen scored his first World Rally Championship points in Jordan after a solid run to eighth overall in his Citroen.
Jordan Rally 2010 – result
1. Sebastien Loeb – Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC 3hours 51mins 35.9secs
2. Jari-Matti Latvala – BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC +00mins 35.8secs
3. Petter Solberg – PSWRT Citroen C4 WRC +01mins 11.8secs
4. Dani Sordo – Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC +01mins 49.3secs
5. Matthew Wilson – Stobart VK Ford Focus WRC +08mins 24.3secs
6. Sebastien Ogier – Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC +10mins 26.4secs
2010 Drivers' championship standings
1. Sebastien Loeb – 68 points
2. Jari-Matti Latvala – 43 points
3. Mikko Hirvonen – 37 points
4. Petter Solberg – 35 points
5. Sebastien Ogier – 33 points
6. Dani Sordo – 24 points
For more information check out Red Bull Rally.
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