Mikko Hirvonen completed the short final stage in Sapporo this afternoon to take victory on Rally Japan, while third place for Sebastien Loeb was enough to secure him the 2008 WRC drivers' title.

Mikko Hirvonen crossed the finish line with a winning margin of 31.1sec but even the best possible result this weekend wasn't enough to prevent Sebastien Loeb sealing the series.

After their heart-stopping spin on the penultimate stage, Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena climbed onto the roof of their C4 at the finish control, waving a French flag in celebration.

Jari-Matti Latvala finished second, helping Ford to a maximum 18 point haul in the manufacturers' championship, and ensuring the battle would go to the final round in Wales.

Chris Atkinson finished fourth in his Subaru World Rally Team Impreza WRC2008, while the Suzuki World Rally Team celebrated its best ever result with sixth and seventh. Matthew Wilson brought his Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Focus to the finish in seventh place, while Subaru driver Petter Solberg was eighth, the last points winning place.

In a classic piece of P-WRC drama, Juho Hanninen became the surprise winner of the Production Car World Championship battle in Japan today after a mechanical problem robbed 18-year-old Evgeniy Novikov of the class lead on the last stage.


Final classification :
1. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Ford Focus WRC) in 3h25'03''
2. Latvala-Anttila (Ford Focus WRC) + 31''10
3. Loeb-Elena (Citroën C4 WRC) + 2'30''60
4. Atkinson-Prévot (Subaru Impreza WRC) + 3'42''40
5. Andersson-Andersson (Suzuki SX4 WRC) + 5'12''96
6. Gardemeister-Tuominen (Suzuki SX4 WRC) + 6'09''40
7. Wilson-Martin (Ford Focus WRC Stobart) + 7'05''30
8. P. Solberg-Mills (Suparu Impreza WRC) + 13'19''90
Etc.

Drivers championship :
1. Loeb 112 points (champion), 2. Hirvonen 102, 3. Sordo 59, 4. Latvala et Atkinson 50, 6. P. Solberg 41, 7. Duval et H. Solberg 22, 9. Galli 17, 10. Wilson 15, etc.

Constructors championship :
1. Citroen 175 points, 2. Ford 164, 3. Subaru 93, 4. Ford Stobart 64, 5. Suzuki 28, Ford Munchi's 22.