Loeb win confirms class.

The writing was already on the wall, but Sebastien Loeb's fantastic victory at the Wales Rally yesterday confirmed the fact that the BP-Ford Abu Dhabi team had failed to hold onto their WRC manufacturers' title. Loeb's superb come-from-behind win at the Wales Rally showed just what BP-Ford Abu Dhabi had been up against all season. The five-time world champion trailed BP-Ford Abu Dhabi's Jari-Matti Latvala by more than two seconds going into the 19th and final special stage on Sunday. But the the Citroen driver produced one of the drives of the season to beat the overnight leader by 2.7 seconds in the end. And with Loeb's team-mate Dani Sordo finishing third, Citroen picked up the manufacturers' title by as many as 18 points. The French flyer said: "This rally was very difficult. "I didn't like it a lot, but I had a great battle with Jari-Matti and it is unbelievable to have finally won here." Latvala said he did all he could to but that in the end Loeb was just too good. "I tried to drive as fast as I could but it wasn't to be," said a dejected Latvala afterwards. "I really wanted the win but it wasn't easy being first out on the road today - I'm really disappointed." Elsewhere, the UAE's Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi wrapped up his first full WRC season with an impressive 16th-placed finish in Wales. Admitting the event was his most challenging to date, the Emirati pace ace believes the invaluable experience will serve him well in future rallies. "Just finishing this event feels like a victory," Al Qassimi said. "This is without doubt the hardest WRC event I have ever taken part in - just finding the necessary grip to feel confident in the car was near impossible and it means a lot to me to have reached the finish."

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