You'd be a fool to bet against Loeb winning Rally Germany. He has been the only winner of the event since it first appeared on the WRC calender in 2002. This year was no exception and gives him a remarkable WRC record of eight (there was no rally in 2009) consecutive win for a single event.
The thing is, there's a good chance Loeb will extent that record as none of the other drivers came close to matching his performance. The only way Loeb's streak in Germany will be broken, is if he makes a big mistake (he made two small ones this time, proving he is human!) or the Citreon has a technical problem, which very rarely happens.
Citroen dominated the rally with a top three finish. Ford improved over the last asphalt event in Bulgaria, but not enough the match the Citroens. Mechanical failures in the Ford cost Hirvonen a possible podium finish. It really is not very exciting when there are only two manufacturers participating, and one of them is struggling while the other dominates.
So it's good news that BMW's Mini will return to the WRC next year, but it will take at least a season to sort them selves out. I don't expect Mini to be competitive in their first year, so 2011 will still be only two established teams. Hopefully, the change in the formula will shake things up a little.
Petter Solberg has the worst luck! He had two(!) tire changes on separate stages on day one, which may have cost him a chance to fight for a third place podium finish. Still, he managed to finish fifth which wasn't too bad.
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