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Loeb Takes 7th WRC Title in France

Sebastien Loeb secured his 7th consecutive world rally championship title on Sunday, after he clinched his 6th win of the season and 60th of his WRC career in his native France. The Citroen driver was practically unbeatable in his home country and, as an asphalt specialist that he is, he managed to put more than 40 seconds between him and his nearest rival in the first half of the rally to eventually slow down his pace later on and ease towards another victory.

But perhaps the best part of it all was that Loeb celebrated his record 7th consecutive title in front of his home town of Haguenau, courtesy of Rally France's new itinerary in 2010.

For sure it makes it really special - it's incredible for me to win the seventh title here in Haguenau. I couldn't expect so many people here. To win the title here is the best thing that could happen this year,” said Loeb, who recently confirmed that 2011 will be his last season in the WRC, according to Autosport.

Needless to say, Dani Sordo secured Citroen's 1-2 finish on the asphalt roads of France, as the Spaniard proved once again that he learnt a lot from his teammate as far as this type of surface is concerned. The French manufacturer eventually secured a podium sweep in the end, but it wasn't through Loeb's title rival and future teammate Sebastien Ogier – who was struck by a broken suspension on Day 2 – but by privateer Petter Solberg.

The Norwegian managed to end the rally in front of Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala, despite the Finn's few stage wins in the second part of the event. His teammate Mikko Hirvonen was in much worse shape though, as he only managed to finish in a distant 5th place, ahead of Ogier.

Federico Villagra and Matthew Wilson finished the rally in 7th and 8th respectively, while followed by Henning Solberg and Patrik Sandell.

Kimi Raikkonen once again failed to cross the finish line of a WRC event, as a couple of accidents in Day 2 ended his rally before time. Not the same thing could be said about Ken Block, as the American completed his first rally in 2010, despite finishing on a distant 12th place.
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