The nine times world champion finished his last rally in the carrier with a crash. Sebastien Loeb crashed in the first stage today in rain conditions. Loeb try to attack the top position from the start but finished rolled out. The both Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena were injured in the crash.
Neuville driving behind Loeb comments the crash: “Conditions were terrible. He went off the road at a very fast right bend and went deep into a ditch. I just saw the wheels of the car, which was upside down.”
Loeb for the crash: “I lost the rear in a fast right corner, and then we had a spin and I finished in the ditch. And that was the race over. For sure I would have preferred to have finished my last rally here, but it didn’t go according to the plan. I’m not happy about the situation but I was not driving for the championship so I don’t need the points. I do feel sorry for the spectators and for the team though. There are a lot of spectators waiting in the stages and I won’t be driving through. For me it’s okay, I have some new plans for the future. I would have preferred to finish on the podium here on my last rally, but that’s life.”
In these bad conditions Mikko Hirvonen and Andreas Mikkelsen also went off the road. Mikkelsen slid into a field and Hirvonen overshot a tight left bend into the vines.
In the rest stages Sebastien Ogier control the situation and move to the first position. The rally leader by Saturday dropped to third, as Dani Sordo keep the second position.
Overall Results:
1. S. Ogier 2:53:07.6
2. D. Sordo +12.2
3. J. Latvala +19.5
4. T. Neuville +1:14.1
5. E. Novikov +3:10.9
6. M. Hirvonen +3:37.7
After Rally France 2013 the new world champion for 2013 is Sebastien Ogier.