Loeb wins Rally Catalunya

Sebastien Loeb close the gap on WRC championship leader Mikko Hirvonen to just one point after leading home a Citroen one-two in the Rally Catalunya.

Hirvonen started the rally with a five-point lead over the Frenchman, but he ended up a distant third behind Loeb and his team mate Dani Sordo.

See the hi-res picture gallery from Rally Catalunya

Ford had undergone extensive asphalt testing before the rally to break Citroen’s dominance on the surface, but despite a strong start, Hirvonen was already out of contention at the midway point.

Sordo had led for the majority of the first two days, but he eventually finished 12.6 seconds behind Loeb.

Despite his third placed finish, Hirvonen remained optimistic of his title chances ahead of the championship finale at Rally GB, which starts on 22 October.

“Now it's all down to GB, so that's going to be some rally," he said. "I'm really looking forward to that fight. It's going to be a really fantastic weekend.”

Full results from Rally Catalunya:

1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen 3h22m14.7s2. Dani Sordo Citroen +12.0s3. Mikko Hirvonen Ford +54.1s4. Petter Solberg Citroen +1m12.4s5. Sebastien Ogier Citroen +1m41.6s6. Jari-Matti Latvala Ford +2m49.8s7. Matthew Wilson Ford +7m15.5s8. Federico Villagra Ford +8m28.1s9. Henning Solberg Ford +9m07.6s10. Dany Snobeck Peugeot +10m56.0s

All timings unofficial

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