Rally Norway - Round 2 World Rally Championship
Wintry Conditions In Norway Welcomed The World Rally Circus
Mar 16, 2009
The rally was held in wintry conditions, as the temperature nudged -30ºC at one point to ensure the ice-packed roads were in perfect condition for a classic snow rally.
Loeb Seals Win On Final Stage Of Rally Norway
Citroen driver Sebastien Loeb came out on top of an enthralling Rally Norway as Mikko Hirvonen made his championship rival fight hard for the victory.
Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen had led for much of the opening day but title rival Loeb was on his tail throughout. Loeb then took command of the rally and built up a 15 second lead by the end of the second day but this was not enough as the Frenchman in his C4 world rally car seemed to be on a mission to prove that he could win on the snowy tracks.
The third and final day started badly for Sebastien Loeb, he lost 5.3s to Hirvonen on SS18 (Valer 1). Loeb said, "A snowplough had been through and I found myself having to sweep aside the layer of loose snow that was covering the ice. I drove well, but there was nothing much I could about it."
Hirvonen went for the win on the final day and reduced the gap to just 7.7sec with only the final 19.74km special stage remaining.
This meant that the first ever Rally Norway would be settled on the final stage of the event.
Sebastien Loeb held out and actually took the stage win, while Hirvonen came home in second overall, 9.8sec behind the Frenchman after 23 stages.
'Rally Norway Was A Tough Rally'
At the final control Loeb stated, "Mentally, this has been a very tough rally. It got very tense when I learnt that Mikko had narrowed the gap on this morning's first stage, but we didn't ease up, even if that did mean having one or two hairy moments! Going into the last stage, I knew that even a small mistake would ruin all the hard work we have put in this weekend. Everything turned out well, however, and it's great to have won this rally for the first time. It's been a fantastic rally and the conditions were perfect form start to finish. Our C4 WRC was a big ally, too, in terms of both its performance and its reliability."
Double Podium For Ford Drivers
Meanwhile the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team claimed a double podium finish as Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen finished second while fellow Finns Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila made it onto the final step of the podium.
Citroen driver, and teammate to Loeb, Dani Sordo, started the day in fifth place and held position to seal a good points haul for Citroen in the manufacturers title.
Final leaderboard on Rally Norway*
1 S Loeb/D Elena Citroen C4 3hr 28min 15.9sec
2 M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen Ford Focus RS 3hr 28min 25.7sec
3 J-M Latvala/M Anttila Ford Focus RS 3hr 29min 37.7sec
4 H Solberg/C Menkerud Ford Focus RS 3hr 31min 49.4sec
5 D Sordo/M Marti Citroen C4 3hr 32min 07.9sec
6 P Solberg/P Mills Citroen Xsara 3hr 34min 41.3sec
7 M Wilson/S Martin Ford Focus RS 3hr 34min 51.5sec
8 U Aava/K Sikk Ford Focus RS 3hr 35min 05.0 sec
9 M Østberg/O Unnerud Subaru Impreza 3hr 38min 16.4sec
10 S Ogier/J Ingrassia Citroen C4 3hr 41min 05.7sec
Drivers Standings After Rally Norway*
1. S Loeb 20pts
2. M Hirvonen 14pts
3. D Sordo 12pts
4. H Solberg 10pts
5. J-M Latvala 6pts
6. C Atkinson 4pts
Manufacturers Standings After Rally Norway*
1. Citroen Total 32pts
2. BP Ford Abu Dhabi 22pts
3. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford 16pts
4. Citroen Junior Team 8pts
*All results subject to FIA confirmation.
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