Loeb and Hirvonen continue in New Zealand

The last step of Rally of New Zealand was not the most intense of the weekend. With significant gaps between the crews and fixed positions among the leaders, the last stage seemed destined for a long procession to the Power Stage. Petter Solberg had long since given up looking for the DS3 WRC, preferring to protect his last place on the podium from Evgeny Novikov and Ott Tänak. The Estonian was starting to come under pressure from Thierry Neuville who scored several scratches to get closer to the top five before the Estonian rolled over in the penultimate special of the event.

The debates resumed at the Power Stage where the Ford drivers (again) saved the furniture by taking the first two places ahead of Sébastien Loeb who definitely doesn't give up any points. The Alsatian signs his fifth victory in seven rallies, while Mikko Hirvonen offers the third double in a row to the Citroën WRT which is in the Drivers' and Manufacturers' Championships. Evgeny Novikov (Ford) fails 37 seconds from the podium where Petter Solberg must feel alone on the last step. Thierry Neuville did a great job in securing a top five finish after attacking intelligently at the end of the race. The Belgian is followed at 20 seconds by Dani Sordo. Jari-Matti Latvala knew that his mistake at the start of the rally (see video) no longer allowed him to fight at the front and the Finn was content to secure the meager points still to be taken. Armindo Araujo (Mini), Ken Block (Ford) and Manfred Stöhl (Ford).

Discover the analysis of the New Zealand rally carried out by our special correspondents in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version for iPad, PC and Mac, and from Wednesday on newsstands.