Loeb and Citroën-Michelin finish the year in style

French driver clinches world rally championship title

Sébastien Loeb has rounded off his 2004 season with yet another polished performance this weekend in Rally Australia.

Less than a month after clinching the world title on his home round in Corsica, the Citroën-Michelin driver took his victory tally for the year to six, a performance that equals the record set by fellow-Frenchman Didier Auriol with Lancia-Michelin in 1992.

Michelin runners monopolised the podium in Perth thanks to Harri Rovanperä (2nd, Peugeot) and François Duval (3rd, Ford). Local star Chris Atkinson (5th) also collected the trophy in Group N with his Subaru-Michelin, while Ulsterman Niall McShea (9th) claimed the Production world crown driving a similar car.

Sébastien Loeb and Citroën-Michelin concluded a highly successful year of world class rallying today by winning Rally Australia, 16th and final round of what has been a particularly busy and exciting campaign. The French team's seventh victory of the season and the Xsara driver's sixth – which equals the record established in 1992 by Didier Auriol – will go some way to alleviating the disappointment felt when the PSA automobile group announced its intention a little over a week ago to put a halt to the WRC programmes of both Citroën and Peugeot from the end of next year.

Loeb's runaway win in the southern hemisphere was arguably his easiest of the season since the vast majority of favourites were eliminated in one way or another very early in the weekend. His own team-mate Carlos Sainz withdrew from what was scheduled to be the final outing of his glittering career before retirement after sustaining neck injuries in an accident during pre-start reconnaissance, while Markko Märtin (Ford-Michelin) failed to start the first full day of competition on Friday due to an engine problem and last year's winner Petter Solberg (Subaru) crashed out on Stage 4.

Three-Time Rally Australia winner Marcus Grönholm ultimately emerged as the man to beat during the initial part of the rally closely tailed by Loeb. However, just as it seemed as though the anticipated clash between these two champions would more than make up for the early cascade of retirements, the Peugeot-Michelin driver was in turn sidelined when he left the road on the opening test of Saturday morning.

The Finn's misfortune left Loeb alone in front with a more than comfortable cushion ahead of Harri Rovanperä (Peugeot-Michelin) and François Duval (Ford-Michelin) who went on to finish in that order, albeit respectively 1m 55s and 3m 40s behind the winner.

The match proved significantly fiercer in the Group N 'Production' category in which the promising local youngster Chris Atkinson (5th, Subaru) topped another Michelin one-two ahead of Spanish Mitsubishi driver Xavier Pons (6th). Meanwhile, 9th place overall and 5th in Group N was sufficient for Ulsterman Niall McShea to secure the Production World Championship with his Subaru-Michelin.

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