Rally GB 2009

- I am very pleased with the result here. The car worked good, and considering I didn’t test in wet conditions, the weekend has been fantastic. I’ve been improving the whole weekend, and we had some really fast splits at the end. I want to thank Citroën for giving me this opportunity, and my fantastic team for their effort. It was too bad we were so unlucky yesterday, and I tried really hard today to beat Sordo, but it just wasn’t enough, said Petter Solberg after the finish.

It has been a thrilling weekend here in Wales, with Petter and Phil in a C4 on gravel for the first time, chasing manufacturer points for the Citroën Junior Team. The weather conditions have been typical Welsh, with rain, wind and fog on the stages, causing very muddy and slippery roads. A problem with the windscreen wipers cost them some time on Saturday, along with a couple of driver mistakes, but yet they managed to end the rally in fourth place.

The winner of Rally GB is Sebastien Loeb, who then became the World Champion for the sixth time. Mikko Hirvonen has been fighting with Loeb this weekend for both the Championship and the rally, but had to let it go on the final stage when the bonnet came loose on his car. Dani Sordo ended third.

The World Rally Championship 2009 is now completed, and the next season kicks off in Sweden in February 2010.

Overall Classification Rally GB 2009

1. Sebastien Loeb, Citroën
2. Mikko Hirvonen, Ford +1.06,1
3. Dani Sordo, Citroën +1.07,1
4. Petter Solberg, Citroën +1.28,1
5. Henning Solberg, Ford +6.28,0
6. Matthew Wilson, Ford +7.46,0
7. Jari-Matti Latvala, Ford +12.11,9
8. Conrad Rautenbach, Citroën +14.27,8

Overall classification day 2 Rally GB

The second day is just finished here in Wales, and Petter, who started the day third has dropped down to fourth in the overall classification. Sebastien Loeb is in the lead and Mikko Hirvonen is second. Dani Sordo is third.

Petter and Phil were fastest on several split sections today, but a few driver mistakes made them loose time. They had a problem in a hairpin and got stuck in a ditch once, and it took some time to get back in line again. A wiper-problem cost them time on the first stage of the day.

Rally GB continues with 4 more stages tomorrow.

Overall classification day 2

1. Sebastien Loeb, Citroën
2. Mikko Hirvonen, Ford +30,2
3. Dani Sordo, Citroën +1.20,1
4. Petter, Citroën +1.44,1
5. Sebastien Ogier, Citroën +4.21,6
6. Henning Solberg, Ford +5.22,8
7. Matthew Wilson, Ford +6.30,0
8. Jari-Matti Latvala, Ford +8.02,5

SS11

- That was a good one, I’m on the case now! Second fastest, eh!!

SS11 Crychan 2
1. Loeb
2. Petter +1,5
3. Hirvonen +4,8
4. Sordo +5,8
5. Ogier +10,7
5. Henning +10,7
7. Wilson +13,7
8. Rautenbach +41,6

SS10

- Went into the ditch, got stuck, lost time. I was on a mission!

SS10 Rhondda 2
1. Loeb
2. Hirvonen +22,9
3. Sordo +1.09,9
4. Petter +1.37,9
5. Ogier +4.01,0
6. Henning +4.49,3
7. Wilson +37,1
8. Rautenbach +1.38,8