The Citroën Total World Rally Team crew of Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena today won Rally Mexico, the second round of the FIA World Rally Championship. After their dominant performance on the second day, the reigning World Champions were able to cruise to the finish while the battle for second raged behind them. Petter Solberg and Phil Mills clinched the position on the final super special stage, heading Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia by just 1.1 seconds at the end of the rally.
In the FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers, Loeb has snatched the lead from Mikko Hirvonen, the Finn now six points adrift in second position. Jari-Matti Latvala and Ogier follow, equal on 25 points. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, the BP Ford Abu Dhabi team has however retained its lead and heads Citroën Total, also by six points.
The final day of Rally Mexico took in just two mountain stages before returning to the city for the closing and decisive super special stage in León. With a 55.5 second lead going into the day, Loeb was able to ease the pace and the Frenchman arrived at the finish with a 24.2 second advantage. This is his fourth victory in Mexico. Ogier and Solberg headed into the final stage split by 0.6 seconds but it was Solberg who claimed victory in the 4.42 kilometre stage to take second overall.
Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala finished fourth and fifth respectively, after a frustrating and uncharacteristically disappointing event.
The FIA World Rally Championship crews now heads to the Middle East for Jordan Rally (1-3 April).
Rally Mexico – Final Results (subject to final scrutineering)
1. Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena Citroën C4 WRC 3 hr 42 min 41.7sec
2. Petter Solberg/Phil Mills Citroën C4 WRC 3 hr 43 min 05.9sec
3. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia Citroën C4 WRC 3 hr 43 min 07.0sec
4. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen Ford Focus RS WRC 3 hr 44 min 29.2sec
5. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila Ford Focus RS WRC 3 hr 44 min 56.8sec
6. Henning Solberg/Ilka Minor Ford Focus RS WRC 3 hr 45 min 29.7sec
7. Federico Villagra/Jorge P Companc Ford Focus RS WRC 3 hr 52 min 55.1sec
8. Xevi Pons/Alex Haro Ford Fiesta S2000 4 hr 01 min 26.1sec
9. Martin Prokop/Jan Tománek Ford Fiesta S2000 4 hr 01 min 43.7sec
10. Armindo Araújo/Ramalho Miguel Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 3 hr 04 min 14.2sec
FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers (after 2 of 13 rounds)
Sébastien Loeb (FRA) 43 points
Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) 37 points
Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) 25 points
Sébastien Ogier (FRA) 25 points
Petter Solberg (NOR) 20 points
Henning Solberg (NOR) 16 points
Dani Sordo (ESP) 12 points
Matthew Wilson (GBR) 6 points
Federico Villagra (ARG) 6 points
Mads Östberg (NOR) 4 points
Xevi Pons (ESP) 4 points
Martin Prokop (CZE) 2 points
Per-Gunnar Andersson (SWE) 1 point
Armindo Araújo (PRT) 1 point
FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers (after 2 of 13 rounds)
BP-Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team 67 points
Citroën Total World Rally Team 61 points
Citroën Junior Team 32 points
Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally Team 28 points
Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team 8 points
