Loeb: As good as it gets.

"Winning the championship as a French driver with a French team on home soil is as good as it gets." The words of newly crowned World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb, the thirty year old celebating his title with a summersault on the podium.

Loeb, the French racing ace, has become the World Rally Champion at only his second attempt following a stirling drive to second place in this weekend's Tour de Course, the Rally of France.

Citroen, which runs Xsara WRC cars for both Loeb and Carlos Sainz, have retained their title as world manufacturer champions, scoring 14 points in Corsica thanks to Sainz bringing his Xsara home in third position giving the team an unassailable total of 178 points, 51 ahead of nearest rival Ford with two rallies still be competed.

Loeb's second place in Corsica was his 11th podium finish of the 14 rallies completed this year, five of which finished in outright victory for the astonishingly consistent Frenchman and his co-driver Daniel Elena.

Loeb celebrated his success with a somersault on the podium, a reminder of his acrobatic background, and as the significance of his win sank in.

"Winning the championship as a French driver with a French team on home soil is as good as it gets. To say I'm world champion is very nice.

"It was tough to keep my focus, but my concentration was okay until five kilometres from the end of the last stage. I don't know whether I could have caught the Fords this weekend but I started the rally with the goal of winning the title so that was always in my mind. Everyone in the team has worked very hard for this championship."

Loeb's speed on asphalt has been obvious since he first hit the world scene after winning the Super 1600 title in a Citro?n Saxo in 2001, but he has evolved into a more complete driver and his consistency this season has been remarkable. Backing up those five wins this year, have been six second places and two fourths proving that no matter what the surface, the Loeb, Elena, Xsara WRC combination is right at the front of the field.

On only one round so far this year has he failed to finish - when an oil-leak caused by hitting a rock put him out while leading in Mexico - a measure of Loeb's consistency and his Citro?n's reliability.

Loeb's team-mate Carlos Sainz has won more WRC rallies than anyone else, but the Spanish double World Champion is more than impressed by just how good his young colleague has become. "I predicted in June last year that Loeb would be champion," said Sainz. "He's now the complete driver, he's just good everywhere."

More good news for Citroen came at the Tour de Course, when team manager Guy Frequelin was awarded the Immarsat star of the rally award.

Former co-driver Nicky Grist, who heads the judging panel for the award, said Frequelin had shown a consistent demonstration of leadership and professionalism over the course of the 2004 season.

"Guy has been an incredible inspiration in the World Rally Championship this year," Grist said. "Under his leadership, the team has made the Citro?n Xsara the most reliable car and they have gone on to achieve a succession of fantastic results to put them so deservedly at the top of the championship."

The Citroen team previously won the Inmarsat-backed award in Germany for its team spirit, and Frequelin dedicated his prize to them.

"I'm very proud to receive this award," he said. "But it's really not for me. It is for all the team, because alone I am nothing. I needed everybody in the team to achieve these results, and I'm very proud of what we have done here and this season."