Latvala holds on to win Rally NZ

Finn Jari-Matti Latvala experienced a  reversal of fortunes  yesterday when he claimed the Rally New Zealand title on  the final day.
Latvala made up for his heartbreak at the last Rally NZ with victory by just 2.4 seconds over Frenchman Sebastien Ogier, whose hopes of a maiden world rally championship success evaporated with a mistake just out from the finish line.
Latvala admitted he had had a bit of luck with Ogier's mishap, but said it was the most satisfying of his three career wins.
"I really went fast and towards the end I was almost off the road myself," he said.
"I thought it was going to be too little but at the end it was enough. We were a little bit lucky but it feels really good."
Six-time world champion Sebastien Loeb, who had provided most of the drama during the three-day event, was third, at 15.2sec down.
Finn Mikko Hirvonen was fourth, 21.3sec behind his compatriot and BP Ford teammate Latvala.
The last time the New Zealand round was held two years ago, Latvala and Hirvonen suffered agony on the final day.
On the penultimate stage, Hirvonen spun when leading the rally and his mistake made Latvala the frontrunner. But Latvala then hit a rock and spun as well, and the damage to his vehicle ended his participation and handed victory to Loeb.
 It was the Frenchman's Citroen Total team who were left ruing what might have been this time.
Ogier had gone into the final test on the iconic 30km Whaanga Coast leg with a 6.2sec advantage over Latvala, only to spin into a ditch, and open the door for Latvala.

 "I did a spin three corners before the end. It's a big shame," Ogier said.
Loeb had appeared on course to complete a spectacular comeback after crashing into a Northland bridge on Friday morning, when he lost  1min 20sec to be 1min 40sec off the pace.
After the crash, he made a stirring charge up the leaderboard that left him just 5.3sec behind Ogier.
After  yesterday's first test, he had jumped into the lead, but then another mistake on the first run through Whaanga Coast stymied his challenge, leaving him with 21.7sec to catch up and only two stages left.
It was a margin that was beyond even the most successful driver in rally history.
Chasing his fourth win of 2010 and his third Rally NZ victory, Loeb said he made his mistake on a sweeping right-hand turn.
"I started to understeer on the gravel and I lost the car," he said.
"I hit some bushes with the rear and put the front in and then I hit a tree. The main problem was I was there for maybe 30 seconds."
He did make up ground on the penultimate stage, but spun late on the final stage to lose more time.
Loeb retains a comfortable buffer at the top of the championship ladder, with 108 points, while Latvala has improved to second on 72. Hirvonen remains third with 64, one point ahead of Ogier.
The top New Zealand finisher was Hayden Paddon, who was 15min 19sec behind the winning time, putting him 14th overall, one place ahead of Chris West.
Paddon also led a New Zealand one-two-three in the production world rally championship category, with Emma Gilmour, 17th overall, and Kingley Thompson, 20th, occupying the other podium spots.
NZPA