Cyprus Rally

16th March 2009

It was golden moment for Sebastien Loeb last weekend weekend, as the Frenchman notched up the 50th WRC victory of his career.

The Citroen star dominated the Rally of Cyprus, finishing nearly 30 seconds ahead of Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen. Petter Solberg completed the podium positions after a remarkable drive in his two-year old Citroen Xsara.

Loeb set the foundations for his victory on the first day, which was made up entirely of tarmac stages. At the overnight halt he was over a minute ahead of his rivals, having set a blistering pace.

For the final two days, the event was run over gravel stages. This allowed Hirvonen to fight back, passing Loeb’s team mate Dani Sordo for second place.

However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Ford squad. Jarri-Matti Latvala slid his Focus into a ditch on the second day, losing 20 minutes and any hope of finishing in the points.

Behind the leading duo, Petter Solberg set some amazing stage times in his Citroen Xsara. The 2003 champ finished the opening day in sixth position, but fought his way past the factory-backed Citroen of Dani Sordo for a well-earned third place at the flag.

British fans had something to cheer with Matthew Wilson bringing his Stobart backed Ford Focus home in fifth place. The 22-year old even scored a fastest stage time on the last test of the rally.

But the biggest celebrations were reserved for Sebastien Loeb’s historic half century. “It’s incredible!” exclaimed the Frenchman. “I remember when I beat the records of Carlos Sainz and then Colin McRae it wasn’t so long ago, and now we’re on 50. It’s a big number. And a nice number! It’s like a dream. I’m very happy with what I’ve achieved but I’m not finished yet. Next I’m going for 51.”

Loeb’s next opportunity to add to his tally will be on Rally Portugal, which kicks off on 2 April.

Results:

1.  Sebastien Loeb        Citroen     
2.  Mikko Hirvonen        Ford        
3.  Petter Solberg          Citroen     
4.  Dani Sordo              Citroen     
5.  Matthew Wilson        Ford        
6.  Conrad Rautenbach    Citroen     
7.  Federico Villagra        Ford       
8.  Khalid Al Qassimi        Ford        
9.  Patrik Sandell            Skoda       
10.  Armindo Araujo        Mitsubishi

Championship standings:

1.  Sebastien Loeb        30    
2.  Mikko Hirvonen        22       
3.  Dani Sordo              17    
4.  Henning Solberg      10    
5.  Petter Solberg          9       
6.  Matthew Wilson        8    
7.  Jarri-Matti Latvala     6     
8.  Chris Atkinson          4      
9.  Sebastien Ogier        3      
10.  Conrad Rautenbach 3