Ford’s 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 sequence of five consecutive wins by Sebastien Loeb. Latvala set up his victory on the opening day, guiding his Fiesta RS WRC to a healthy lead of more than 20 seconds.
Over the next two days of competition Latvala’s lead remained above that 20 second barrier. However, the final day saw an epic fight between fellow Ford driver Petter Solberg and the irrepressible Sebastien Loeb.
In the end, Loeb just edged out Solberg by a slender 0.9 second margin to ensure the damage done to his title lead was minimal.
Australia’s Chris Atkinson just missed out on the final championship point offered for 10th place after he broke a left-rear toe-link on his MINI JCW WRC.
Loeb continues to lead the championship by an impossible 61 points over his Citroën teammate Mikko Hirvonen, while a tight battle is on for third place. Petter Solberg, Mads Ostberg and Jari-Matti Latvala are separated by just six points with three rallies to go. In the constructors’ title race not even daylight is close to Citroën. And Ford is behind daylight.
The WRC teams hit the French tarmac for Rally de France early next month.
Until then you can enjoy Ford’s great highlights package from the Welsh roads after the break.