Image: ©willyweyens-rallyworld

Sebastien Loeb won Wales Rally GB 2008 after a titanic final day battle with Jari-Matti Latvala.

The fight went down to the final stage where Loeb thought he was 2.4s behind Latvala due to an alleged jump start penalty of 10s being imposed on the Frenchman for SS18. The penalty was later dropped but Loeb would have won the rally regardless after an amazing final stage push. Loeb's eventual winning margin was 12.7s after the penalty was lifted.

The win now means that Loeb has another record, that for the number of wins in a season as this was his 11th victory of 2008. Also, Citroen have secured the manufacturers' title after finishing second for the last two years.

Loeb delighted to win his first Rally GB:

It has always been in the back of my mind that I haven't won this rally. This is the perfect end to my year - and a great relief. It has been a good journey and a really good way to end the season like this. It is incredible and good for the rally to have such a close fight with Jari-Matti.

After making sure of our fifth title in Japan, Daniel and I are really happy to have enabled Citroën to take the Manufacturers world crown again, too. There couldn't be a better reward for this team and the fantastic season it has put in. The added bonus of winning this weekend's highly complex event is the icing on the cake. 

The regulations which ban gravel note crews and which dictate a single type of tyre made this rally an extremely perilous exercise. To have succeeded in steering clear of all the potential pitfalls to finally finish ahead of our rivals is tremendously satisfying."

Final day battle between Loeb and Latvala

Latvala finshed second, after the epic battle with Loeb, to record his best Rally GB result. Sordo had been instructed to finish 3rd to allow Loeb to attack on the final day and the Spaniard did just that.

Latvala admitted he couldn't have driven any faster on the last stage:

I couldn't have driven that final stage any quicker. I told myself I would be either first or second, and not waiting in the forest for a trailer to come and collect the wreckage. I'm disappointed but this is my best finish in Britain and the battle has made me mentally stronger.

I now feel ready to start next season and fight for the title. I need to be better than the best because it's the winner who is remembered, not the driver who finishes second. The roads were frozen solid today and the grip changed all the time. It was hard to find a rhythm and I hit a bank on the opening stage. I took quite a few risks this morning and at times it was a scary drive."

Eurosport coverage Day 1

Petter Solberg finished fourth for Subaru and disappointed he couldn't push for a podium due to the treacherous conditions. PG Andersson scored a great fifth overall for Suzuki and his team-mate Gardemeister was 7th for another strong and reliable result for the team following Japan.

Sixth was Francois Duval putting in a reasonably solid drive while Mikko Hirvonen recovered from his day one roll to finish eighth, he becomes the first driver to score points on every round during a season. Matt Wilson finished top Brit in 9th after a difficult rally for him with the icy conditions, just ahead of Barry Clark.

Halfway from yesterday

Valentino Rossi improved considerably during the rally to finish a respectable 12th overall and achieve his aim of a finish.

Vale

Valentino Rossi was extremely happy with his performance: 

I'm very happy today, firstly to finish the rally and secondly to set some very good times on the four stages today. The car was fantastic and I was finding it easy to drive when we got a precise setting. My approach here was to take the race step-by-step and try not to make any mistakes and this worked well.

I think this rally was very difficult and finishing it makes me very happy indeed. The Focus was really nice to drive and it's been fantastic working with the Stobart team; they are all very friendly and hopefully we will get a chance to work again together."

Rossi was awarded the Abu Dhabi Spirit of the Rally Award for his weekend's performance

Patrik Flodin won the PWRC category, the first win for the N14 Subaru, while Patrik Sandell retired his 207 from second place on the final stage with a blown engine. Andreas Aigner was 2nd o/a which was enough for him to be crowned PWRC champion. Third PWRC was Guy Wilks who claimed the BRC this weekend as he looks like securing a WRC seat for next year.

Notable last day retirements included Henning Solberg who suffered suspension trouble with his Focus and Gareth Jones who stopped with a mechanica problem affecting his Subaru S12B WRC.

Special mention must go to Tom Cave, on his first WRC event aged 17, who finished 30th overall and won his class comfortably.

Eurosport Day 2

Millennium Stadium Stage 

2008 Wales Rally GB Final Classification: 

1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC 2hours 43mins 09.6secs M
2. Jari-Matti Latvala BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 08 +00mins 12.7secs M
3. Daniel Sordo Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC +01mins 20.6secs M
4. Petter Solberg Subaru WRT Impreza WRC 2008 +01mins 59.6secs M
5. Per-Gunnar Andersson Suzuki WRT SX4 WRC +04mins 04.1secs M
6. Francois Duval Stobart VK Ford Focus WRC 07 +05mins 07.8secs MT
7. Toni Gardemeister Suzuki WRT SX4 WRC +05mins 25.0secs M
8. Mikko Hirvonen BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 08 05mins 38.8secs M

9. Matthew Wilson Stobart VK Ford Focus WRC 07 +08mins 13.9secs MT
10. Barry Clark Stobart VK Ford Focus WRC 07 +09mins 53.1secs A8
11. Patrik Flodin Subaru Impreza WRX STi +12mins 51.7secs P / B
12. Valentino Rossi Stobart VK Ford Focus WRC 07 +13mins 20.4secs A8
13. Andreas Aigner Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +14mins 33.8secs P
14. Guy Wilks Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +14mins 59.4secs P / B
15. Conrad Rautenbach PH Sport-Citroen C4 WRC +15mins 21.3secs A8
16. Khalid Al Qassimi BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 08 +15mins 24.2secs A8
17. Jari Ketomaa Subaru Impreza WRX STi +17mins 38.6secs P
18. Gwyndaf Evans Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +20mins 03.2secs N4 / B
19. Steve Perez Stobart VK Ford Focus +20mins 40.7secs A8
20. Hermann Gassner Jr Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +24mins 02.0secs N4

Wales Rally GB PWRC Final Standings:

1. Patrik Flodin Subaru Impreza WRX STi 2hours 56mins 01.3secs P / B
2. Andreas Aigner Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +01mins 42.1secs P
3. Guy Wilks Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +02mins 07.7secs P / B
4. Jari Ketomaa Subaru Impreza WRX STi +04mins 46.9secs P
5. Jaromir Tarabus Fiat Grande Punto S2000 +12mins 17.3secs P
6. Spyros Pavlides Subaru Impreza WRX STi +25mins 18.0secs P
7. Armindo Araujo Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +28mins 52.6secs P
8. David Higgins Subaru Impreza WRX STi +32mins 16.5secs P / B
9. Bernardo Sousa Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +33mins 59.4secs P
10. Simone Campedelli Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +55mins 54.8secs P

World Rally Drivers' Championship 2008:

1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC 122 points
2. Mikko Hirvonen BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 103 points
3. Daniel Sordo Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC 65 points
4. Jari-Matti Latvala BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 58 points
5. Chris Atkinson Subaru WRT Impreza WRC 50 points
6. Petter Solberg Subaru WRT Impreza WRC 46 points
7. Francois Duval Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Focus WRC 25 points
8. Henning Solberg Stobart/Munchi's Ford Focus WRC 22 points
9. Gigi Galli Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Focus WRC 17 points
10. Matthew Wilson Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Focus WRC 15 points

World Rally Manufacturers' Championship 2008 :

1. Citroen Total WRT 191 points
2. BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT 173 points
3. Subaru WRT 98 points
4. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford RT 67 points
5. Suzuki WRT 34 points
6. Munchi's Ford WRT 22 points 

Sebastien Ogier's roll SS9 

Similar Posts:

• Wales Rally GB 2008 Day 2 Results and photos: Latvala in front as Loeb sits just behind, plus Chris Atkinson crash videos
• Wales Rally 2008 GB Results Day 1: Jari-Matti Latvala leads, Loeb second and Hirvonen roll Sweet Lamb 2 video
• Rally New Zealand 2008 Day 2 Results: Latvala leads as tactics come into play leaving four drivers in with a shout come the final day

About the Author

Scott Coursey is the editor-in-chief of RallyBuzz.com and can be found on Twitter or on Facebook