Rally Ireland

Sebastien Loeb put in a devastating performance to win Rally Ireland, and put himself on course for a fourth consecutive World Rally Championship title.

The Citroen driver capitalised on rival Marcus Gronholm's crash on the first day to win the event and open up a six-point lead in the title race, with just the Wales Rally GB to contest.

Gronholm went off the road during the fourth stage of the event. His Focus WRC careered into a stone wall, tearing both wheels and suspension from the left hand side of the car. The Finn was taken to hospital for precautionary checks but was released later that day.

But Loeb didn’t have it easy, having experienced more spins and junction overshoots than on any other rally he’s competed in. After the event he claimed that: "This rally was one of the most difficult we've ever done, because it was very muddy but the car was really good. I had a really good feeling after Marcus retired and I was not pushing so hard, just driving through with no risks."

Second place on the podium was taken by Loeb's Citroen team-mate Dani Sordo, with third place going to rising Finnish star Jari-Matti Latvala in Ford Focus WRC.

It wasn’t all gloom for Ford as Mikko Hirvonen came home fourth, thereby sealing the manufacturers championship for the Blue Oval.

The top British driver was seventh placed Guy Wilks in a privately entered Subuaru Impreza, while the home fans where pleased to see Dubliner Gareth MacHale take eighth position. Fellow Irishman Niall McShea took Production Class honours, and tenth overall, in a Subaru Impreza WRX.

With just six points separating them, Loeb and Gronholm will now take the driver’s title down to the wire the Wales Rally GB Championship finale (30 Nov – 2 Dec).

Rally Ireland results
1 S Loeb (Fr) Citroen 3 hrs 01 min 39.200 secs
2 D Sordo (Spn) Citroen @ 00:53.400
3 J-M Latvala (Fin) Ford @ 01:48.200
4 M Hirvonen (Fin) Ford @ 02:17.700
5 P Solberg (Nor) Subaru @ 02:55.800
6 G Wilks (GB) Subaru @ 05:57.900
7 M Wilson (GB) Ford @ 10:04.900
8 G Mac Hale (NI) Ford @ 11:08.300
9 A Mikkelsen (Nor) Ford @ 13:08.200
10 N McShea (GB) Subaru @ 16:32.100