The 2011 World Rally Championship came down to a final round showdown at the Rally GB between Sebastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen. In the end neither managed to finish the mud and rain-hit event, but with an eight-point advantage prior to the start, Loeb had done enough to become world champion for an eighth time.
Both drivers retired as a result of radiator damage but in quite different circumstances as Jari-Matti Latvala claimed his first win of 2011 for Ford.
“We were on a road section and hit a car [driven by a spectator] front on,” Red Bull-backed Citroen driver Loeb said following his exit on Sunday morning. “I moved to the side [of the road] but we are in [Wales] and he is not [Welsh] so he went on the wrong side and we crashed. It was not a big impact but the radiator is holed, so we cannot go on. That’s it. But okay, we are world champion so no problems.”
Hirvonen was leading after Friday’s third stage when his dreams of a first world crown ended in disaster.
'The wood came through the radiator' – Mikko Hirvonen
“It was very tricky and the grip level was changing quite a lot because of the rain and the mud,” the Ford pilot said. “On one braking [point] it was very slippery and I was too fast into the next corner. There was a big slide and the rear touched the bank. I spun and it pulled the front of the car into a bank where there was a tree stump. The wood came through the radiator. There was no real damage but we lost all the water in the engine. We carried on for five or six kilometres but that was it, it was over.”
With Hirvonen out, Loeb moved back in front. However, a charging Latvala soon had the Frenchman in his sights. He snatched the lead on Saturday afternoon and was extending his advantage at the wheel of his Fiesta when Loeb was forced to stop after Sunday’s first stage.
GEPA Pictures/Citroen/Tony Welam
“I had a good feeling,” Latvala said. “I felt it was now or never basically. I was relaxed of course and there were a couple of moments, but no mega things happening. It was a shock when I heard about Loeb. We got a message there had been a crash but I thought how was it possible because he had finished the stage and had a time. Then I realised it was on the road section, it was unbelievable.
"But it’s been a long, long time, 15 months, since my last win and I was thinking at some points we’re not going to win anything this year. But finally I’m really happy it came here in Wales.”
Mads Ostberg ended the season just as he started it by finishing second in his semi-works Fiesta. Team-mate Henning Solberg claimed the final podium spot in his similar after fending off a late charge from Red Bull-supported Kris Meeke in his factory MINI.
“I gave everything I had to close the gap to Henning,” Meeke said. “I got it down from 45s to 1.8s but on the Power Stage I ran wide by not getting the grip I thought I would from the front tyres, got in the ruts and spun. I blew it but fourth is my best result in the WRC and I said before the start that if I could be in the top five then I’d be happy.
Ex-Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen failed to make it through Saturday’s opening stage when he suffered a light roll and retired his privateer Citroen.
Want more?
- WRC Rally GB: Kimi Raikkonen interview
- Official World Rally Championship website wrc.com
- Kris Meeke's top five Mini moments
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