Jari-Matti Latvala battled all weekend to take his 5th career WRC triumph.

When Mikko Hirvonen retired from the final round of the season on day 2, Ford team mate Latvala was free to race Sébastien Loeb for the win. The Finn was on top form and defeated the eight-time world champion on merit. The drama came to an end when Loeb was involved in a road accident with a Spanish spectator who panicked when he came face to face with the Frenchman and turned the wrong direction, damaging the Citroen DS3 WRC beyond repair.

After playing ideal team mate to Hirvonen on the final rounds of the year, Latvala, fourth in points, but clearly the stronger of the Ford duo this season picked up his first victory since Sardinia in 2009.  “This is a great feeling, it has been a long time since I won a rally”, said an overjoyed Latvala. “It has been a very difficult season and it is great to win the last round of the year. We are going to go for the title next year, in a Ford!”.

Mads Ostberg held his ailing Focus RS WRC together to come runner-up in a spirited drive that does his future plenty of good. The promising Norwegian bookend his year with a second place in the opener in Sweden and of course here in Wales in the finale. The only real battle on Sunday was between Kris Meeke and Henning Solberg for the final spot on the podium with the Norwegian getting nod, his first top three result since Poland 2009.

Matthew Wilson ran a discreet but steady rally on his home event to end the year with a top five result. Following Wilson was the mightily impressive Estonian, Ott Tanak on the DMACK shod Ford. Evgeny Novikov nursed his Ford home and managed to get past Dennis Kuipers late in the running for seventh place. American internet sensation brought his season to a conclusion with a clean run and ninth place ahead of Armindo Araujo in a privateer Mini JCW.

TOP TEN FINAL
1 Latvala
2 Ostberg+3:42.9s
3 H. Solberg+7:05.1s
4 Meeke +7:12.3s
5 Wilson+8:57.3s
6 Tanak+9:27.1s
7 Novikov+9:47.7s
8 Kuipers+10:12.7s
9 Block+16:01.2s
10 Araujo+17:01.6s

POWER STAGE
1 Ogier 3pts
2 Sordo 1
3 Latvala 1

FIA DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1 Loeb 222 points
2 Hirvonen 214
3 Ogier 196
4 Latvala 172
5 P. Solberg 110
6 Ostberg 88
7 Wilson 63
8 Sordo 59
9 H. Solberg 56
10 Raikkonen 34