Loeb wins WRC Australia.... no wait!Author: jawapro
Date: Mon 07/09/2009 06:53 PM
Well - Rally Australia is over. It’ll be back in 2 years time (alternates with Rally NZ).
Mikko Hirvonen managed to hold on to second place - even after the disadvantage of road sweeping (Loeb was in the lead at the end of day 2, but decided to go slow on the last stage to force Mikko to sweep).
Loeb’s win had moved him up in the championship, so he was only 1 point behind Mikko. As the next rally is tarmac (Loeb’s original specialty - winning seems to be his specialty now), you’d have to put your money on Loeb for that one. If Mikko was able to come second - he’d still have to beat Loeb on the final gravel event to claim the championship.
It could have been far worse - at least with a second place, the championship was still up for grabs, and Mikko had a very slight advantage going into the last 2 rounds.
BUT HOLD THE PHONE!
After the rally was all over, the stewards took a look at the cars, and discovered that those sneaky French cars were cheating! Well - actually, they just had the wrong sized roll-cage or something. Either way, it meant a penalty, and Loeb ended up in second place, while Mikko took the win!
http://au.sports.yahoo.com/motorsport/news/article/-/5939142/loeb-penalty-sees-hirvonen-claim-rally-australiaIt’s not the way he’d want to win - but he and team-mate Marcus Gronholm suffered the same thing a few years back because their rear side window was too thin. Almost poetic justice.
Most interestingly - this means the Mikko has moved up in the championship instead of Loeb closing on him. Even if Loeb wins both events now, Mikko can come second and still win the championship.
Still a very tough ask, with drivers like Sordo (Citroen’s number 2 driver - also a tarmac specialist) wanting to upset things - but this just might be the year where Mikko can finally knock Loeb off his French throne and claim the championship.
Can’t wait for the next events.
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