Madrid, Nov 12: Sebastian Loeb ended his ninth straight year as world rally champion with victory in Spain Citroen's Loeb beat Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala 27 seconds to win the Rally Espana Sunday for the eighth consecutive season and secure his ninth win in 13 rallies in 2012.
Mikko Hirvonen was third, 1 minute 14 seconds off his teammate Loeb's time.
Frenchman Loeb secured the championship last month after winning his home rally in Alsace.
Loeb will not compete in the World Rally Championship full-time next year, setting the stage for another driver to become WRC champion for the first time since Petter Solberg won the title in 2003.
