Rally Season Comes Down to Britain

Topics:  Wales Rally of Great Britain

VOA Sports
November 28, 2007

Three-time world rally driving champion Sebastien Loeb of France hopes to capture a fourth title this week when he competes in the Rally of Great Britain in Wales, the last rally of the season.

Loeb, who drives a Citroën, won his eighth rally this season last week in Ireland. He leads Finland's Marcus Grönholm by six points in the season drivers' standings (110-104). The Finn had to retire from last week's contest in Ireland after crashing on the first day.

If Grönholm - a two-time former world champion driver - wins this event, Loeb would only need to finish in the top five to capture the driving title.

Extreme weather could affect the outcome - the rally covers 17 stages on roads that are often icy and shrouded in fog.

This is Grönholm's last rally. The Ford Focus driver plans to retire after this season. Ford has captured the manufacturer's title for this season.

Some information for this report provided by AFP