Sbastien Loeb and Daniel Elena bettered their own impressive record for the most wins at a single event in securing a ninth victory in Germany. Tenyears after winning their first WRC rally, the eight-time World Champions can now be known as nine-time winners of Rallye Deutschland! Combinedwith the five consecutive wins for the Loeb/Elena driver pairing, the fifth podium running claimed by Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen enablesCitron Total World Rally Team to move one step closer to an eighth manufacturers title.

With two runs on the Dhrontal test and then the Power Stage, the programme for the final day of Rallye Deutschlandlooked like a sprint down the final straight. But with significant gaps between the leading drivers, most crews expectedto hold their position to the finish. As the cars left the service park, once again all eyes were on the sky. All thecompetitors wasted no time in opting to fit soft Michelin Pilot Sport tyres, which are more effective on the wet tarmacroads in the former French department of Sarre.

First on the road, Sbastien Loeb made the most of the clean racing line to notch up an eighth stage win on SS13.Third fastest on the stage, Mikko Hirvonen had also adopted a fairly cautious pace. Running in reverse order for thefinal stage, the crews set off for a second run on the 30km-long Dhrontal test. In muddy conditions, the Citron TotalWorld Rally Team drivers drove a controlled stage to finish sixth and seventh fastest.

Run in the streets of Trier around the Circus Maximus, the Power Stage completed the German round of the WorldRally Championship. Sbastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen recorded the two fastest times, earning them two and threebonus points respectively.

I took some holidays between the Finland and Germany rallies; it seems to have done me the world of good, jokedthe winner after having been warmly congratulated by his team and the crowd. These three days have gone very well,but the conditions were really not very easy. We were the quickest, but we were also the most consistent. Somecompetitors were capable of rivalling us in terms of out-and-out performance, but they were caught out by the manypitfalls of the route. Once I had built up a good lead, I just had to avoid making any mistakes. As each rally goes by, weare getting closer to our goal of a ninth title. With a fifty-four point lead and four races left, things are looking good...Before the start, I said that I would be happy to finish on the podium. I have to be pleased therefore to finish third,although the weekend was complicated for me, commented Mikko Hirvonen. This rally was really difficult from startto finish, with very dirty roads. This is not the kind of conditions that I particularly like, but thats rallying!We can be proud that our two cars finished on the podium for the fifth time running, assessed Yves Matton, CitronRacing Team Principal. We have further extended our lead in the World Championship standings. We might even beable to wrap up the Manufacturers title at the Wales Rally GB.

The entire team was moved in remembering Philippe Bugalski, who died accidentally a few days ago. In 2001, Bughad won the Germany Rallyjust before it became part of the WRC calendarin a Xsara T4. Jean-Paul Chiaroni, histhen co-driver and now weather and reconnaissance coordinator for Citron Racing, stepped onto the podium to receivethe cup awarded to the winning manufacturer of the rally.

OVERALL STANDINGS1 Loeb / Elena Citron DS3 WRC 3h415242 Latvala / Anttila Ford Fiesta RS WRC +20013 Hirvonen / Lehtinen Citron DS3 WRC +23144 stberg / Andersson Ford Fiesta RS WRC +32445 Atkinson / Prvot Mini JCW WRC +91046 Ogier / Ingrassia Skoda Fabia S2000 +95087 Mikkelsen / Floene Skoda Fabia S2000 +122278 Al-Attiyah / Bernacchini Citron DS3 WRC +125049 Sordo / Del Barrio Mini JCW WRC +1417310 Arzeno / Jamoul Peugeot 207 S2000 +1520112 Neuville / Gilsoul Citron DS3 WRC +23419