Ford began the Wales Rally GB with high hopes, Mikko Hirvonen was still a mathematical chance to win the championship. Alas, an accident and the subsequent damage forced Hirvonen out at the end of Day 2. That handed the 2011 WRC drivers’ title to Sebastien Loeb.
Ironically a bizarre accident on a liaison stage with a Spanish tourist put Loeb out of the event. “We were on a very narrow road section between the two stages, there were some crests. I was just driving and I saw a car in front. I brake, I go to the side but the problem was it was a Spanish driver and she was on the wrong side. In [Wales] you drive on the other way but it was the wrong reflex. We just hit two cars in the front and we broke the radiator,” Loeb explained to wrc.com.
So it was a case of to finish first, first you have to finish for Latvala who held on for his fifth WRC victory. Ford begun the year with their Fiesta WRC finishing in the top three and they ended the year in the same fashion. Latvala hopes it is a sign of things to come, “I’m really hoping we can challenge now the Citroëns, really after so many years I would really like to see Ford be world champion.”
A highlights package from the Ford WRC team can be seen after the break.
2 replies on “Jari-Matti Latvala wins Wales Rally GB”
[…] the end it was good fortune that handed Sebastien Loeb his eighth WRC title. Loeb was forced out of Wales Rally GB following a low-impact collision with a tourist on a non-competitive stage. Thankfully, for Loeb, […]
[…] Jari-Matti Latvala defended his 2011 victory by going back-to-back at the Wales Rally GB on the weekend. In doing so, he finally ended the […]