Finland's Mikko Hirvonen regained the overall lead from Citroen's Sebastien Loeb in the world rally standings after taking champions Ford to a one-two win in Turkey on Sunday. Hirvonen defended his overnight lead to win the eighth round of the season by 7.9 seconds from team mate and compatriot Jari Matti Latvala.
Loeb finished third, 25.7 seconds off the pace. Hirvonen, despite having just two wins to his French rival's five, has 59 points to Loeb's 56. Latvala moved up to third place overall on 34, three points clear of Subaru's Australian Chris Atkinson.
"It's fantastic but that was close," Hirvonen told the official wrc.com Web site. "My front tyres are finished and I had a puncture for the last few km - I wasn't sure I'd done enough." Hirvonen came under intense pressure from Latvala in the final 31km Olympos 2 stage in the mountains near Antalya on the south-west Mediterranean coast after starting the day with a 16.1 second advantage.
"It's been an unbelievable fight," said Latvala. "I couldn't have driven any better but in the end it wasn't enough."
Loeb had led the rally into Saturday's second stage after a tactical move by the Ford drivers, who slowed to ensure the Frenchman would have to perform the leader's role of 'roadsweeper' on the rough gravel tracks. With only three stages on Sunday, the champion was too far back to challenge Hirvonen.
"I tried hard, had a really good start but like everybody we destroyed the tyres," he said.
"I decided to go slowly to avoid a puncture. I will be back, though. We cannot win every time. Better a third place than a retirement." Spain's Dani Sordo was fourth for Citroen, ahead of Henning Solberg in a Stobart-Ford and the Norwegian's younger brother Petter in a Subaru.
Britain's Matthew Wilson, son of Ford team boss Malcolm, was seventh for Stobart-Ford with Zimbabwe's Conrad Rautenbach taking the final point in a privately-entered Citroen.
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