Loeb win cuts Gronholm lead
Reigning World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb dominated the French Rally to close in on title rival Marcus Gronholm at the top of the drivers’ standings.
Citroen driver Loeb followed up his victory in Spain with another comprehensive triumph, winning nine out of 15 completed stages – Friday’s opening stage was cancelled due to spectator problems – on his favoured asphalt surface.
He saw off the challenge of Ford Focus driver Gronholm by 23.7 seconds, with Spain’s Dani Sordo third, 44.3 secs behind.
It was Frenchman Loeb’s third successive victory in his home race in Corsica, an event nicknamed ’the rally of 10,000 corners’, and moved him to 100 points in the standings, with Finland’s Gronholm four points ahead with three rounds to go.
Gronholm’s team-mate and compatriot Mikko Hirvonen is third with 74 points despite a poor performance in France, while Loeb’s Citroen team-mate Sordo is fourth, 29 points adrift of Hirvonen.
Loeb, aiming for a fourth successive world crown, was delighted to secure his seventh victory out of 13 races this season and the 35th win of a glittering career.
“For me, I couldn’t do better than to win,” Loeb told www.autosport.com.
“After that, it doesn’t depend on me. I cannot do more. I’m happy about this result and it’s two points less in the gap in the championship.”
The 33-year-old was placed outside the top two twice in the opening 13 completed stages, each time finishing third, before easing off for fourth- and fifth-place finishes in the final two stages with the race already won.
He now carries the momentum going into the next round in Japan, beginning on October 25.
Gronholm, the world champion in 2000 and 2002, was consistently fast enough to fight off the challenge of the rest of the field, including Sordo, who had beaten him to second place in Catalunya.
The 39-year-old was relieved to remain in pole position in the title race ahead of the gravel rally in Japan, the penultimate round in Ireland and the final race in Britain.
But he conceded Loeb was at his imperious best in the mountain rounds around Ajaccio.
“It’s only two points (lost) and it’s okay,” Gronholm said.
“I couldn’t win – I had no chance this weekend – so it’s good to be second and still leading (the championship),” added the Finn, who is aiming to end his career with a third world title.
Compatriot Jari-Matti Latvala equalled his career best result with a fourth-place finish in the Stobart Ford, while his team-mate, Britain’s Matthew Wilson, was 12th.
