Latvala wins in New Zealand

Without achieving a single best time in the entire event, Jari-Matti Latvala won the New Zealand Rally by the wire. The Ford driver was able to prove himself stronger than the three Citroën drivers he faced during the last stage!

Published on 09/05/2010 à 02:17

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Le Rally from New Zealand was hosted by Sébastien from Citroën. Sébastien Ogier dominated the general classification during almost the entire event and Sébastien Loeb accumulated the best times to erase his driving mistakes.

But in a remake of the hare and the tortoise, it is the most consistent, Jari-Matti Latvala who stands out from the crowd and wins at the end of a final historic special.

Four drivers showed up at the start of Whaanga Coast 2 (SS21) with the realistic ambition of winning. Petter Solberg, third, was the first to have to retire. The Norwegian hit? for the account? a pole with his Citroën C4 WRC. The crew escaped without injury.

In a position to compete with Ogier and Latvala, Loeb made his third mistake of the weekend shortly after halfway through the special. A spin cost him a little more than ten seconds and his last hopes.

Sébastien Ogier then seemed in the best position. The Gapençais was only a few meters away from a first WRC victory when his Citroën C4 WRC spun three corners from the cell.

Author of a final special without errors, as during the rest of the rally, Jari-Matti Latvala snatched victory by only 2??4 ahead of Sébastien Ogier. Sébastien Loeb finished third at 15??2 ahead of Mikko Hirvonen (+21??3) and Dani Sordo (+25??8).

On the podium in New Zealand, Sébastien Loeb remains well ahead of the World Rally Championship with 108 points ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala (72), Mikko Hirvonen (64), Sébastien Ogier (63) and Petter Solberg (53). In the manufacturer rankings, Citroën (156) remains ahead of Ford (151).