Loeb e la moglie vincono il rally di francia

Loeb and wife win French rally

By Matt Beer    Sunday, November 29th 2009, 15:40 GMT

Severine and Sebastien Loeb, Rallye du Var 2009World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb took outright victory in French Championship round the Rallye du Var - in which his wife Severine acted as co-driver in their Citroen C4 WRC.

The Loebs came home two minutes clear of former WRC and Formula 1 driver Stephane Sarrazin, who took second place in an S2000 Peugeot after Loeb's nearest rival Brice Tirabassi crashed out.

"Last year, we finished on the podium on the Rallye du Var in a C2 S1600. When [team boss] Olivier Quesnel suggested we repeat the operation this time round with a C4 WRC, we didn't hesitate a second," said Loeb.

"We were under absolutely no pressure and our only aim was to entertain the spectators. This event holds a special place in my career, since it was here that I was given my first works drive with the Citroen Xsara kit car in 2000.

"It's always nice when you win, and I also prefer giving a celebratory kiss on the podium to Severine rather than [regular co-driver] Daniel [Elena]."

Elena was also competing in the event, switching to the driver's seat in a in Citroen C2-R2 and finishing 54th.

"We covered the entire rally without ever knowing what our position was," he said. "The main thing for us was to enjoy this rally's fabulous stages and thank our supporters."

New Renault F1 signing Robert Kubica also contested the rally, finishing 29th in a Renault Clio.

Autosport.com