Five times world champion Sebastien Loeb of France was denied his sixth win of the season and his 53rd overall when his team was penalised for a technical infringement concerning the roll bar of the Citroen C4 late on Sunday night after the finish of the Rally of Australia, round 10 of the FIA World Rally Championship.

Loeb had earlier beaten his Finnish championship rival Mikko Hirvonen in a Ford Focus by 12,5 seconds after 35 special stages, with Loeb’s Spanish team-mate Dani Sordi third a further 4,6 seconds behind and Citroen Junior Team driver Sebastien Ogier fourth.  After the officials imposed a one-minute penalty on the Citroens, it was Hirvonen who was awarded his fourth victory of the season ahead of Loeb and Sordo.

Instead of closing to within one point of Hirvonen with just two rounds of the championship remaining – in Spain and Great Britain - Loeb now finds himself five points in arrears.  Sordo is third.

The Frenchman timed his rally to perfection, allowing Hirvonen to overtake him on the penultimate day so that the Citroen driver would not have to lead on the road on the final day.  Hirvonen, having to sweep the road of loose gravel for his rivals, was unable to match the pace of Loeb and instead was embroiled in a battle with Sordo for second place.

Loeb won nine of the special stages, with the impressive Ogier taking eight, Jari-Matti Latvala in the second works Ford seven and Hirvonen winning five.