Loeb claims record sixth championship
Stilo's Sebastien Loeb has reset the record books of the FIA World Rally Championship once again with his sixth consecutive WRC title.
Following a winning streak that lasted all five of the season's opening rallies, the 35-year-old Frenchman then suffered an enormous accident in Greece and another setback in Poland before recovering to take the final third of the season by storm.
Victory in the Rally Australia was denied him when an unhomologated suspension part was found to have been used on his Citroen C4 WRC. Yet from that disappointment he closed the gap to win in Spain and to seal the title with victory on the Rally GB. The victory was a crushing blow to the hopes of Finland's Mikko Hirvonen, who had led the points battle since midseason for Ford.
"It has been an incredible season: a very good start then we lost everything in the middle of the season," said Loeb. "It was big, big pressure and I'm really happy about this one because Mikko was really, really strong. It was an incredible battle all season."
Supported by Stilo, Loeb will now focus his energies on 2010 and another year at the forefront of the WRC action. This will be the last year that the current 2.0-litre turbocharged World Rally Cars can compete for the biggest prize in the sport before new 1600cc turbo cars take over in 2011.
Basso claims European title
Stilo-helmeted Giandomenico Basso has won the 2009 FIA European Rally Championship with second place on the Rallye de Valais in Switzerland. The works Fiat-Abarth team leader put in a measured run to ensure that the points for second place denied the title to Polish rival Michal Solowow.
Basso, who has campaigned on both the ERC and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in 2009 has seen a busy season rewarded with five outright victories: the 1000 Miglia Rally in Italy, the Rally Bulgaria, Rali Vinho de Madeira on the IRC trail, the ELPA Rally in Greece and the Rallye Antibes in France.
"It's been a great season with lots of victories and, after dropping out of the championship battle in the IRC, the ERC title has become the main focus of our year," Basso said. "To have it now on our record is fantastic and I would like to thank everyone involved."
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