Sensational win for Latvala in New Zealand

Ford’s Finish driver Jari-Matti Latvala won yesterday the Rally of New Zealand after an amazing last leg, denying Sebastien Ogier’s win.

Entering the Whaanga Coast stage with only 6.2 seconds separating the two drivers, Latvala used to his advantage the fact that Ogier was running first on the dusty road. Early on the stage a half-spin seemed to have cost Ogier the win, but he managed to recover and once again got ahead of Latvala. Towards the end he lost some more time with a spin almost with finish line on his sight, handling the Finn the win by just 2.4 seconds.

"It was so, so close," said Ogier, "I did a spin three corners before the end. It's a big shame."

A thrilled Latvala celebrated enthusiastically the dramatic win that also put Ford ahead of Lancia as the most successful manufacturer in WRC history.

"This is maybe the best victory," he said. "Towards the end I was almost off the road myself. I thought it was not enough. He made a little mistake and we were maybe a little bit lucky, but it feels good. I haven't done any fastest stage times on this rally, but consistency counts."

Defending his 2008 victory Sebastien Loeb had a wild rally but managed to finish on the lowest spot of the podium. In the last stage, while he was trying to catch Ogier and Latvala, Loeb spun once again, which ended his contention.

Different luck had Petter Solberg who crashed in the Whaanga Coast stage when he was also a podium contender.

The New Zealand Rally showed from the first stage a lot of competitiveness with Ogier, Solberg, Latvala and Dani Sordo swapping the lead during the first day. On Saturday, Ogier cleared ahead of the pack, but after a first difficult day, Loeb outshined his countryman with blasting times that put him back in contention.

Loeb seemed to be heading to yet another victory when he took the lead on the final day but when he went off and clipped a tree on Whaanga Coast he ended up in fourth place, 21 seconds behind Ogier.

The Citroen Junior Team driver struggled in the last day running at the front of the pack, enabling Latvala and Solberg to recover some time.

In New Zealand Mirko Hirvonen never found a good pace, with the Ford driver having to settle for fourth place ahead of Citroen’s number two Sordo.

In the driver’s standings Sebastien Loeb maintains top-position with a comfortable lead over Latvala, with Hirvonen lying third ahead of Sebastien Ogier. In the manufacturer’s standings Citroën Total World Rally Team is leading with a five-point advantage over BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team.

The next venue of the WRC will be in Portugal between the 28 and 30 of May.