Citroen driver Sebastian Loeb has clinched a record 8th consecutive World Rally title following his top rival Mikko Hirvonen’s forced withdrawal from the Rally of Wales due to a heavy crash.
The Finnish Ford driver went into the final race with an 8-point deficit behind the French leader, and seemed to be in impressive form before he hit a tree stump and damaged his radiator.
All repair efforts proved useless as Sebastian Loeb was handed his 8th successive world title.
There are still two days remaining in this race, with Loeb officially being crowned champion on Sunday. Loeb finished the second day of the rally 1.1 seconds ahead of Finland’s Jari-Matti Latvala in the other Ford.
Loeb’s latest victory makes him the world’s most successful motorsport driver, surpassing Formula One’s Michael Schumacher and MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi who both won seven titles.