After a roller coaster Rally GB, an elated Sébastien Loeb paid tribute to Mikko Hirvonen, saying the 2009 title chase he'd enjoyed with the young Finn was the best sporting battle he's had in WRC.
"It's been an incredible season. We made a good start then we lost everything and we came here one point behind Mikko. Finally we've done it and I'm really happy but Mikko has been extremely strong. I know it will be tough next year for sure.
"This has been one of my best title wins; the battle was so intense – going almost until the end of the last rally. It was incredible."
A run of bad results, starting with a time penalty in Sardinia, costly crashes in Greece and Poland and a controversial ruling by the stewards in Australia meant Loeb arrived in Cardiff for the final rally of the season trailing the Ford driver by a point. Victory was the only way to be sure of the title. “There were so much pressure right up to the end of the rally. We had a good start to the year, but then encountered a few problems. However, we got back on top of things just before this rally.
“Finally, we’ve managed to win the title again, on the penultimate stage. Mikko didn’t give up and I had to push right to the finish. It’s never easy to compare one title with another, but I think this is the best one in terms of the sporting battle we had.
“When you win a title with three rallies to go, the pressure isn’t the same because you’ve always got another opportunity to do it. This was the final rally and we couldn’t afford to get it wrong. Everybody expected us to win, but nothing was certain until we reached the finish. That’s why it means so much to us.”
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