The 2009 Rally GB was the 12th and last round of the 2009 World Rally Championship season and the 65th running of the Rally of Great Britain. The rally consisted of 16 special stages.

2009 Rally GB
Round 12 of the 2009 World Rally Championship
← Previous event
Sébastien Loeb to record sixth successive world rally title.
Host countryUnited Kingdom Great Britain
Dates run23 – 25 October 2009
Stages16
Statistics
Crews61 at start, 51 at finish
Overall results
Overall winnerFrance Sébastien Loeb
France Citroën Total WRT

Sébastien Loeb claimed victory to record a sixth successive world rally title.[1]

Report

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Sébastien Loeb secured his sixth world title with a win at the season finale in Wales. His rival Mikko Hirvonen had to settle for second place and thus buried his dream of his first world title. Loeb came to Wales a point behind World Cup leaders Hirvonen. So the starting position was clear. The one who finishes ahead of the other in points is world champion.

Loeb and Hirvonen fought a second duel at the top on the first day. Loeb took the lead in the first stage. Hirvonen kept getting close, but couldn't dislodge him from the lead. The preliminary decision was made on Saturday morning. On stages eight and nine, Hirvonen struggled to find the right pace and lost time. The gap grew to 25 seconds. So Loeb went into the final Sunday with a lead of 30.2 seconds. However, Hirvonen did not give up and reduced the gap to Loeb to 18.2 seconds in the first two special stages.

On the penultimate special stage, the bonnet of Hirvonen's Ford came off. On a full-throttle section, it flipped up and blocked the Finn's view. Hirvonen had to stop and remove the hood. That took him about a minute. Although Loeb had turbo problems on the last special stage, Hirvonen was no longer able to catch up with the Frenchman. Hirvonen was able to defend second place overall against Daniel Sordo, who finished third just behind him.

Results

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Pos. Driver Co-driver Car Time (BST/GMT) Penalty Difference Points
WRC
1   Sébastien Loeb   Daniel Elena Citroën C4 WRC 3:16:25.4 0.0 10
2   Mikko Hirvonen   Jarmo Lehtinen Ford Focus RS WRC 09 3:17:31.5 +1:06.1 8
3   Dani Sordo   Marc Martí Citroën C4 WRC 3:17:32.5 +1:07.1 6
4   Petter Solberg   Phil Mills Citroën C4 WRC 3:17:53.5 +1:28.1 5
5   Henning Solberg   Cato Menkerud Ford Focus RS WRC 08 3:22:53.4 +6:28.0 4
6   Matthew Wilson   Scott Martin Ford Focus RS WRC 08 3:24:11.4 +7:46.0 3
7   Jari-Matti Latvala   Miikka Anttila Ford Focus RS WRC 08 3:28:37.3 +12:11.9 2
8   Conrad Rautenbach   Daniel Barritt Citroën C4 WRC 3:30:53.2 +14:27.8 1
PWRC
1 10
2 8
3 6
4 5
5 4

Special stages

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Day Stage Time (BST) (23-24 October)
(GMT) (25 October)
Name Length Winner Time Rally leader
1
(23 Oct)
SS1 9:23 Hafren 1 32.14 km   Sébastien Loeb 18:30.2   Sébastien Loeb
SS2 10:04 Sweet Lamb 1 5.13 km   Sébastien Loeb 3:23.7
SS3 10:22 Myherin 1 27.88 km   Sébastien Loeb 15:29.3
SS4 13:31 Hafren 2 32.14 km   Mikko Hirvonen 18:49.8
SS5 14:12 Sweet Lamb 2 5.13 km   Sébastien Loeb 3:24.1
SS6 14:30 Myherin 2 27.88 km   Mikko Hirvonen 15:39.0
2
(24 Oct)
SS7 8:35 Rhondda 1 35.72 km   Mikko Hirvonen 19:30.0
SS8 10:26 Crychan 1 14.99 km   Sébastien Loeb 8:34.4
SS9 10:54 Halfway 1 18.37 km   Sébastien Loeb 10:19.6
SS10 15:00 Rhondda 2 35.72 km   Mikko Hirvonen 19:07.9
SS11 16:51 Crychan 2 14.99 km   Sébastien Loeb 8:44.9
SS12 17: Halfway 2 18.37 km   Sébastien Loeb 10:38.0
3
(25 Oct)
SS13 8:28 Port Talbot 1 17.41 km   Mikko Hirvonen 9:00.2
SS14 9:27 Rheola 1 22.51 km   Mikko Hirvonen 12:34.3
SS15 10:56 Port Talbot 2 17.41 km   Sébastien Loeb 9:11.9
SS16 11:55 Rheola 2 22.51 km   Mikko Hirvonen 12:46.0

References

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  1. ^ "Loeb secures sixth title in a row". BBC Sport. 2009-10-25. Archived from the original on 28 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
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