Heading into the last stage on Sunday, Loeb had only secured a 7.7-second advantage over 2nd placed and 2007 Rally Norway winner Mikko Hirvonen. The Finnish driver put all his hopes into the final run but eventually came 2nd by more than 2 seconds to Loeb, having to only settle for runner-up overall.
“Mikko has done a really great rally and I had to push on the limit from the first to the last stage. Finally, we've done it. It's been very difficult mentally to keep pushing to the end and know that you could lose everything at the last corner of the last stage. It's a lot more exciting when you win with a battle like this,” said Loeb after taking his first win in Norway.
Although he started the rally as clear favorite, Ford's Hirvonen finished the event in wanting for more. The points scored in Norway have lifted the Finnish driver into 2nd place in the overall classification, while also giving Ford a chance to close the gap on rivals Citroen in the Manufacturers' Standings.
“I'm sad that we came second, but I'm glad we finished. It was a really, really big and close fight. He was faster yesterday, and that was it. I'm glad about my speed today - I managed to push him really hard,” said Hirvonen.
Third overall was Latvala, who finished more than 2 minutes ahead of local favorite Henning Solberg. The Stobart Ford driver managed to keep his advantage ahead of Loeb's teammate Dani Sordo in the late stages of the rally, while new team owner/driver Petter Solberg had to settle for an impressive 6th place on his Citroen Xsara.
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