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20th
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Sébastien Loeb (Citroën) has won the World Rally Championship (WRC) season-opening Rally Monte-Carlo, which was shortened for safety reasons.
The nine-time world champion, who was leading by 1min40s over Sébastien Ogier (Volkswagen) before the last day, maintained his advantage to the end, which came sooner because the last two special stages were cancelled.
Organizers considered the excessively large amount of spectators a threat for safety, had a car gone off.
This last day of racing saw several drivers retiring. In the ESS14 “Moulinet-La Bollène Vésubie”, Evgeny Novikov (Ford), Jari-Matti Latvala (Volkswagen) and Juho Hanninen (Ford) all went off the road for good.
In the end, Loeb took a seventh (and probably last) win in Monte-Carlo, 1min39s ahead of Sébastien Ogier. Dani Sordo (Citroën) completes the podium ahead of teammate Mikko Hirvonen.
Bryan Bouffier (Citroën) finished fifth because Mads Ostberg (Ford) lost several minutes after he went off the road in the very last stage he competed in. Bouffier also posted his first WRC stage win in ESS14.
The results put Loeb in the championship lead after the first event of the season. But lets not forget the Frenchman will compete in only four or five rallies this season before leaving WRC for good.
Final classification:
1. Loeb / Elena (Citroën DS3 WRC) 5h18'57''2
2. Ogier / Ingrassia (VW Polo R WRC) +1'39''9
3. Sordo / Del Barrio (Citroën DS3 WRC) +3'49''0
4. Hirvonen / Lehtinen (Citroën DS3 WRC) +5'26''3
5. Bouffier / Panseri (Citroën DS3 WRC) +8'13''1
6. Ostberg / Andersson (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +12'03''7
Etc.
Championship:
1. Loeb 25 points, 2. Ogier 18, 3. Sordo 15, 4. Hirvonen 12, 5. Bouffier 10, etc.
The nine-time world champion, who was leading by 1min40s over Sébastien Ogier (Volkswagen) before the last day, maintained his advantage to the end, which came sooner because the last two special stages were cancelled.
 |
| Evgeny Novikov, Ford Fiesta RS (Photo: McKlein Photography/WRC) |
Organizers considered the excessively large amount of spectators a threat for safety, had a car gone off.
This last day of racing saw several drivers retiring. In the ESS14 “Moulinet-La Bollène Vésubie”, Evgeny Novikov (Ford), Jari-Matti Latvala (Volkswagen) and Juho Hanninen (Ford) all went off the road for good.
 |
| Juho Hanninen, Ford Fiesta RS (Photo: McKlein Photography/WRC) |
In the end, Loeb took a seventh (and probably last) win in Monte-Carlo, 1min39s ahead of Sébastien Ogier. Dani Sordo (Citroën) completes the podium ahead of teammate Mikko Hirvonen.
Bryan Bouffier (Citroën) finished fifth because Mads Ostberg (Ford) lost several minutes after he went off the road in the very last stage he competed in. Bouffier also posted his first WRC stage win in ESS14.
 |
| Mikko Hirvonen, Citroën DS3 (Photo: McKlein Photography/WRC) |
The results put Loeb in the championship lead after the first event of the season. But lets not forget the Frenchman will compete in only four or five rallies this season before leaving WRC for good.
Final classification:
1. Loeb / Elena (Citroën DS3 WRC) 5h18'57''2
2. Ogier / Ingrassia (VW Polo R WRC) +1'39''9
3. Sordo / Del Barrio (Citroën DS3 WRC) +3'49''0
4. Hirvonen / Lehtinen (Citroën DS3 WRC) +5'26''3
5. Bouffier / Panseri (Citroën DS3 WRC) +8'13''1
6. Ostberg / Andersson (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +12'03''7
Etc.
Championship:
1. Loeb 25 points, 2. Ogier 18, 3. Sordo 15, 4. Hirvonen 12, 5. Bouffier 10, etc.