Sebastian Loeb won his 6th World Rally Championship in the style of a true champion this weekend. He went into the Rally GB 1 point behind, needing to win, and needing to beat a hard-charging Mikko Hirvonen. He emerged 1 point ahead to take the title. To do so, he had to not only beat Mikko in terms of speed (which he did), but he had to be flawless so as not to throw it all away in the welsh mud (ditto). Oh, by the way, he has had several DNFs this year or this would have been another runaway season…
This form of motorsport is intolerant of drivers who have simply mastered one type of surface. Eg: Giles Panizzi was a minor deity on the tarmac, the Finns love the snow, etc. You must do well on all surfaces in all conditions to be a champion. Seb has done this SIX TIMES !! For my money, he is one of the greatest racing drivers ever.
There are rumors of him trying for a seat in F1. I hope not. He is a bit old for F1, he would not get a competitive seat, and it would deprive World Rally of a truly exciting 2010 with a confident Mikko pushing Seb to the limits in his attempt to get #7. What could be better?
Oh yeah, they could get the WRC back on TV in the US !!
That is SIX TIMES IN A ROW my friend !! He beat the finns in the snow, Gronholm on gravel, everyone except Panizzi on tarmac, etc. I don’t expect this record to be broken in our lifetimes.