Loeb wins 2012 Rallye Deutschland
Sebastien Loeb cemented his seventh victory in the 2012 World Rally Championship by dominating the 10th running of the ADAC Rallye Deutschland as an FIA World Championship rally. Loeb winning the asphalt event for a ninth time in his Citroen DS3 WRC which he shares with his regular co-driver Daniel Elena.
Loeb took the lead on the opening stage of the rally on Friday morning, a lead he would never relinquish following a dominant display in changeable weather conditions. The result, his seventh victory of 2012 - his fifth in succession - gives him a useful 54-point title lead in the championship heading to Wales Rally GB, the next event of the series in the UK in September. Only a brave man would now bet against the 38 year old Frenchman adding the 2012 World Rally Championship to the eight others he already has!
Jari-Matti Latvala was the leading Ford finisher in second - his best result on asphalt in the WRC - with Mikko Hirvonen making it two Citroen runners on the podium in third despite not showing the kind of speed that has carried him to 14 WRC victories in the past. Latvala's only cause for concern on day three occurred when the bonnet of his Fiesta RS WRC began to lift on stage 13, while Hirvonen spent the day conducting set-up work.
Mads Ostberg finished fourth for the Adapta World Rally Team with Chris Atkinson a strong fifth in his debut for WRC Team MINI Portugal. Sebastien Ogier shone for Volkswagen Motorsport, guiding the German firm's Super 2000-specification Skoda Fabia to sixth overall with team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen next up. The undoubted highlight for Norwegian Mikkelsen was his capture of the third fastest time on the Power Stage.
26th August, 2012