Hirvonen wins but Loeb takes title

Third place was sufficient for Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) to become the first driver to win five world titles, despite a spin on the penultimate stage. 

 Chris Atkinson (Subaru) claimed fourth. 

Per-Gunnar Andersson (Suzuki) climbed two places to take fifth, ahead of team-mate Toni Gardemeister, who also overhauled Stobart driver Matthew Wilson (Ford). 

Petter Solberg (Subaru) took the final points' position, despite breaking an exhaust manifold Sunday morning and incurring a 30sec penalty.

Next round

The season closes with the traditional final round in Britain next month.  The all-gravel Rally GB is based in Cardiff on 4 - 7 December.

Final positions (championship positions subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA)

1.  M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen               FIN             Ford Focus RS   3hr 25min 03.0sec 2.  J-M Latvala/M Anttila               FIN             Ford Focus RS   3hr 25min 34.1sec 3.  S Loeb/D Elena                      FRA             Citroen C4              3hr 27min 33.6sec 4.  C Atkinson/S Prévot         AUS             Subaru Impreza  3hr 28min 45.4sec 5.  P-G Andersson/J Andersson   SWE             Suzuki SX4              3hr 30min 15.9sec 6.  T Gardemeister/T Tuominen           FIN             Suzuki SX4              3hr 31min 12.4sec 7.  M Wilson/S Martin           GBR             Ford Focus RS   3hr 32min 08.3sec 8.  P Solberg/P Mills                   NOR             Subaru Impreza  3hr 38min 22.9sec 9.  F Villagra/J Perez Companc  ARG             Ford Focus RS   3hr 40min 43.8sec 10 D Sordo/M Marti                      ESP             Citroen C4              3hr 42min 11.5sec

Drivers                                                 1.  S Loeb                      112pts                  2.  M Hirvonen          102pts                  3.  D Sordo                       59pts                 4.  J-M Latvala           50pts                 5.  C Atkinson                    50pts                 6.  P Solberg                     41pts                

Manufacturers 1.  Citroen Total               175pts 2.  BP Ford Abu Dhabi   164pts 3.  Subaru                        93pts 4.  Stobart VK M-Sport Ford  64pts 5.  Suzuki                        28pts 6.  Munchi's Ford                 22pts

Stage Times

Stage 21: 1. P Solberg 2min 00.2sec; 2. Hirvonen + 0.4; 3. Andersson + 1.2; 4. H Solberg + 1.9; 5. Loeb + 2.5; 6. Sordo + 2.9; 7. Latvala + 3.3.

Overall: 1. Hirvonen 2hr 23min 32.4sec; 2. Latvala + 18.4; 3. Loeb + 1:17.2; 4. Atkinson + 2:31.1; 5. Wilson + 4:36.5; 6. Gardemeister + 4:41.7.

Stage 22: 1. Hirvonen 8min 13.0sec; 2. Latvala + 1.8; 3. P Solberg + 6.2; 4. Andersson + 7.5; 5. Gardemeister + 11.2; 6. Wilson + 12.1.

Overall: 1. Hirvonen 2hr 31min 45.4sec; 2. Latvala + 20.2; 3. Loeb + 1:09.4; 4. Atkinson + 2:45.6; 5. Wilson + 4:48.6; 6. Gardemeister + 4:52.9.

Stage 23: 1. Latvala 17min 49.5sec; 2. Andersson + 12.3; 3. Hirvonen + 13.8; 4. P Solberg + 26.5; 5. Gardemeister + 33.7; 6. Wilson + 42.7.

Overall: 1. Hirvonen 2hr 49min 48.7sec; 2. Latvala + 6.4; 3. Loeb + 1:42.8; 4. Atkinson + 3:16.7; 5. Gardemeister + 5:12.8; 6. Wilson + 5:17.5.

Stage 24: 1. Latvala 1min 57.3sec; 2. Hirvonen + 0.2; 3. P Solberg + 0.6; 4. Atkinson + 2.0; 5. Loeb + 4.6; 6. Andersson + 5.4.

Overall: 1. Hirvonen 2hr 51min 46.2sec; 2. Latvala + 6.2; 3. Loeb + 1:47.2; 4. Atkinson + 3:18.5; 5. Gardemeister + 5:19.2; 6. Andersson + 5:23.8.

Stage 25: 1. Kim 1min 45.7sec; 2. Atkinson + 0.1; 3. Kitamura + 0.8; 4. Gardemeister + 1.0; 5=. Brynildsen, Taguchi + 1.1; 7. Latvala + 1.4; 16. Hirvonen + 2.7.

Overall: 1. Hirvonen 2hr 53min 34.6sec; 2. Latvala + 4.9; 3. Loeb + 1:47.2; 4. Atkinson + 3:15.9; 5. Gardemeister + 5:17.5; 6. Andersson + 5:23.2.

Stage 26: 1. Hirvonen 2min 08.6sec; 2. P Solberg + 0.9; 3. Latvala + 4.4; 4. Andersson + 4.6; 5. Sordo + 4.8; 6. Atkinson + 5.9.

Overall: 1. Hirvonen 2hr 55min 43.2sec; 2. Latvala + 9.3; 3. Loeb + 1:58.3; 4. Atkinson + 3:21.8; 5. Gardemeister + 5:24.1; 6. Andersson + 5:27.8.

Stage 27: 1. Hirvonen 8min 39.9sec; 2. Andersson + 0.7; 3. P Solberg + 2.6; 4. Latvala + 14.1; 5. Sordo + 15.3; 6. Loeb + 15.5.

Overall: 1. Hirvonen 3hr 04min 23.1sec; 2. Latvala + 23.4; 3. Loeb + 2:13.8; 4. Atkinson + 3:51.8; 5. Andersson + 5:28.5; 6. Gardemeister + 5:48.4.

Stage 28: 1. P Solberg 18min 00.2sec; 2. Andersson + 16.3; 3. Sordo + 16.9; 4. Atkinson + 24.1; 5. Hirvonen + 30.6; 6. Loeb + 41.4; 7. Latvala + 41.5.

Overall: 1. Hirvonen 3hr 22min 53.9sec; 2. Latvala + 34.3; 3. Loeb + 2:24.6; 4. Atkinson + 3:45.3; 5. Andersson + 5:14.2; 6. Gardemeister + 6:10.0.

Stage 28: 1. P Solberg 2min 03.8sec; 2. Sordo + 0.5; 3. Latvala + 2.1; 4. Atkinson + 2.4; 5. Andersson + 4.0; 6. Gardemeister + 4.7; 7. Hirvonen + 5.3.

Overall: 1. Hirvonen 3hr 25min 03.0sec; 2. Latvala + 31.1; 3. Loeb + 2:30.6; 4. Atkinson + 3:42.4; 5. Andersson + 5:12.9; 6. Gardemeister + 6:09.4.


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