WRC report: Loeb hit by illegal car penalty
Sebastien Loeb's hopes for a sixth world rally title hit the skids on Rally Australia last weekend when his Citroen team was penalised for fielding an illegal car.
The Frenchman won the event on the road but scrutineers found an illegal part in the front suspension of his C4 machine.
As a result, Loeb and his team-mates Dani Sordo and Sebastien Ogier were all handed 60-second penalties.
It robbed Loeb of an important win that would have ended a four-month drought for the Frenchman. It crucially handed the advantage to his main title rival Mikko Hirvonen, whose Ford Focus inherited top slot. Loeb's censure dropped him to second in the event and he is now five points behind the Blue Oval star.
Loeb had used clever tactics to slow down at the end of each of the first two legs to make sure he wouldn't be the first car through the stages on each of the days. That meant Hirvonen, who was running in top slot, was the first car and his machine effectively swept all the rocks and stones from the road, allowing the later-running Loeb to set quicker stage times.
While other victory protagonists Ogier, Latvala and Hirvonen fell away with difficulties, Loeb prevailed. Until post-rally checks, that is.
Dani Sordo's added one minute meant he dropped to third, ahead of Ford's second driver Jari-Matti Latvala. Rising French star Ogier, a protege of Loeb's, was fifth ahead of leading Briton Matt Wilson in his Ford Focus.
Loeb is expected to dominate on the Tarmac roads of the next round in Spain but the penalty for Citroen, which prompted the French firm's top brass to apologise to Loeb, means the championship will go down to the wire on Wales Rally GB in November.
Results
1. Hirvonen (Ford)
2. Loeb (Citroen)
3. Sordo (Citroen)
4. Latvala (Ford)
5. Ogier (Citroen)
6. Wilson (Ford)
7. Henning Solberg (Ford)
8. Federico Villagra (Ford)
WRC report: Loeb hit by illegal car penalty - Latest Car News from 4Car
The Frenchman won the event on the road but scrutineers found an illegal part in the front suspension of his C4 machine.
As a result, Loeb and his team-mates Dani Sordo and Sebastien Ogier were all handed 60-second penalties.
It robbed Loeb of an important win that would have ended a four-month drought for the Frenchman. It crucially handed the advantage to his main title rival Mikko Hirvonen, whose Ford Focus inherited top slot. Loeb's censure dropped him to second in the event and he is now five points behind the Blue Oval star.
Loeb had used clever tactics to slow down at the end of each of the first two legs to make sure he wouldn't be the first car through the stages on each of the days. That meant Hirvonen, who was running in top slot, was the first car and his machine effectively swept all the rocks and stones from the road, allowing the later-running Loeb to set quicker stage times.
While other victory protagonists Ogier, Latvala and Hirvonen fell away with difficulties, Loeb prevailed. Until post-rally checks, that is.
Dani Sordo's added one minute meant he dropped to third, ahead of Ford's second driver Jari-Matti Latvala. Rising French star Ogier, a protege of Loeb's, was fifth ahead of leading Briton Matt Wilson in his Ford Focus.
Loeb is expected to dominate on the Tarmac roads of the next round in Spain but the penalty for Citroen, which prompted the French firm's top brass to apologise to Loeb, means the championship will go down to the wire on Wales Rally GB in November.
Results
1. Hirvonen (Ford)
2. Loeb (Citroen)
3. Sordo (Citroen)
4. Latvala (Ford)
5. Ogier (Citroen)
6. Wilson (Ford)
7. Henning Solberg (Ford)
8. Federico Villagra (Ford)
WRC report: Loeb hit by illegal car penalty - Latest Car News from 4Car
