Loeb claims World Rally Champs

PERTH – French driver Sebastien Loeb was crowned world rally champion for the third year in a row yesterday despite sitting out Rally Australia with a broken arm.

Finland’s Mikko Hirvonen won Sunday’s event while Marcus Gronholm, the only man capable of catching Loeb, saw his title hopes disappear when he failed to finish in the top four. Hirvonen beat Subaru driver Petter Solberg by 37 seconds to win his first rally and strengthen Ford’s grip on the manufacturers’ championship with two races to go.Austria’s Manfred Stohl finished third in a Peugeot with Citroen’s Xevi Pons fourth.Loeb followed the race on the Internet from his home in Geneva as Gronholm, who rolled his car on Friday, won 10 separate stages to fight back to fifth spot.”It’s a strange moment to be the world champion and not be in Australia,” he said.”But this is a really good moment.”Ford team boss Malcolm Wilson hailed the absent Frenchman.”We all know what Sebastien has done and to win the championship with two events remaining is remarkable,” he said.Solberg was another to congratulate Loeb and he was thrilled to be back on the podium after a difficult year with Subaru.”It’s been six months and it is a good feeling,” he said.Hirvonen claimed the lead on Friday and held it from there on, the 26-year-old gaining fitting reward for a consistent season.He capped the victory in style by winning the last leg in Perth, despite earlier saying he would drive conservatively to make sure of manufacturers’ points for Ford.With Citroen’s Dani Sordo finishing 24th after an early setback, Ford extended its lead over Kronos Racing to 16 points and is on the brink of ending a drought stretching back to 1979.Loeb, a former acrobat who has drawn comparisons to Formula One’s Michael Schumacher, also missed Rally Turkey after breaking his arm mountain biking last month.He tops the standings with an uncatchable 112 points and hinted he may not rush his recovery by racing in Rally New Zealand next month.Nampa-AFPHirvonen beat Subaru driver Petter Solberg by 37 seconds to win his first rally and strengthen Ford’s grip on the manufacturers’ championship with two races to go.Austria’s Manfred Stohl finished third in a Peugeot with Citroen’s Xevi Pons fourth.Loeb followed the race on the Internet from his home in Geneva as Gronholm, who rolled his car on Friday, won 10 separate stages to fight back to fifth spot.”It’s a strange moment to be the world champion and not be in Australia,” he said.”But this is a really good moment.”Ford team boss Malcolm Wilson hailed the absent Frenchman.”We all know what Sebastien has done and to win the championship with two events remaining is remarkable,” he said.Solberg was another to congratulate Loeb and he was thrilled to be back on the podium after a difficult year with Subaru.”It’s been six months and it is a good feeling,” he said.Hirvonen claimed the lead on Friday and held it from there on, the 26-year-old gaining fitting reward for a consistent season.He capped the victory in style by winning the last leg in Perth, despite earlier saying he would drive conservatively to make sure of manufacturers’ points for Ford.With Citroen’s Dani Sordo finishing 24th after an early setback, Ford extended its lead over Kronos Racing to 16 points and is on the brink of ending a drought stretching back to 1979.Loeb, a former acrobat who has drawn comparisons to Formula One’s Michael Schumacher, also missed Rally Turkey after breaking his arm mountain biking last month.He tops the standings with an uncatchable 112 points and hinted he may not rush his recovery by racing in Rally New Zealand next month.Nampa-AFP