WRC legend Loeb won the Azores Rally on his first try, adding yet another triumph to his illustrious resume.
The nine-time WRC champion was invited by event organisers to tackle the famous Portuguese island rally, which this year has dropped off the European Rally Championship calendar.
Making his first conventional rally start of the year, after finishing second on the Dakar rally raid in January as part of his World Rally-Raid Championship programme with Prodrive, Loeb won the first four stages before fellow Skoda driver Mikkelsen pipped the Frenchman by 0.7s on Stage 5. Mikkelsen, a two-time Azores winner, clinched five consecutive stage wins and reduced the deficit to Loeb to 8.4s before the final two stages.
Loeb completed the victory in style by winning the rally-ending powerstage by a second from Mikkelsen. One-time WRC driver Nil Solans claimed the final podium position.Writing on Twitter, Loeb said: "Thank you, Azores Rally. An incredible rally, a top co-driver, a perfect car, amazing tyres... a weekend I'm not ready to forget."
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