Loeb overjoyed with title

The Citroen Xsara ace finished second at his home event, the Rallye de France, to the clinch the crown while team-mate Carlos Sainz placed third to ensure the French car maker also secured the manufacturers' title.

"Winning the championship as a French driver with a French team on home soil is as good as it gets," said Loeb, who had targeted victory before his home event started last week. "To say I'm world champion is very nice."

Loeb was in a championship-winning position throughout the rally and finished second to Ford's Markko Martin after the other Focus driver, Francois Duval, retired on the final day. Loeb's only championship rival, Petter Solberg, was never in contention in Corsica, meaning that Loeb simply had to concentrate on not making mistakes to win the title.

"It was tough to keep my focus," he said, "but my concentration was okay until 5km from the end of the last stage. I don't know whether I could have caught the Fords this weekend but I started the rally with the goal of winning the title so that was always in my mind.

"Everyone has worked hard for this championship. It's a good job from the team, the tyres and the car."

Citroen's team boss Guy Frequelin was awarded the Inmarsat Star of the Rally Award after the event for leading his team to double title glory: "I'm very proud to receive this award. But it's really not for me. It is for all the team, because alone I am nothing. I needed everybody in the team to achieve these results, and I'm very proud of what we have done here and this season."

Out-going champion Solberg, who won the three previous rallies as he tried to retain his title following a poor mid-season run, finished fifth way behind the leaders. But the Norweigen was gracious in defeat.

"I'm very happy for Sébastien," he said. "He's had a great season and really deserves the title."