The thirteenth and final round of the 2014 World Rally Championship->ke523 season came to a close over the weekend with another first-place finish for Sébastien Ogier. Following a win in Spain, the dominant Frenchman started this year's Rally of Legends with the championship win already secured, but that didn't stop Ogier from pushing his Volkswagen Polo R to the limit as he battled teammate Jari-Matti Latvala for the rally->ke191 lead. However, a spin early Saturday morning put Latvala in a ditch, adding more than three minutes to his time. The pressure was off the two-time world champion, but with Latvala out of contention for the podium, Finland's Mikko Hirvonen, Norway's Mads Østberg, and Northern Ireland's Kris Meeke would need to give their all in the battle for second place.

But it was Hirvonen and Meeke who traded blows as the sun set for the final two night stages of day two, as Østberg received a 10-second penalty for checking in late to time control. The bad luck continued when Østberg suffered a delaminated tire, adding another 15 seconds to his time, pushing the Citroën->ke22 driver to fourth. After swapping positions throughout the evening, it was Hirvonen who came out on top going into day three.

Click past the jump to read the conclusion of the 2014 Rally GB Wales.

Conditions in Wales were the typical fog, mud, and rain as the rally entered its final stages. With a comfortable lead, Ogier drove conservatively, taking few risks in the push to victory. But all eyes were on Hirvonen and Meeke, as the two fought for supremacy in the saturated forests. As the pressure mounted, both drivers made errors. Meeke ran wide into a ditch, but with the throttle pinned, managed to leap the DS3 back onto the road with minimal time lost. Hirvonen clipped a banner marking the finish line of the Brenig stage, damaging the rear of his Ford Fiesta RS.

But a puncture collected during his run in the ditch dropped Meeke down to sixth. Østberg, who clawed his way back towards the leaders after the many setbacks he suffered on Saturday, managed a third place podium.

Ogier's top place finish is well won, and he deserves tremendous praise as the 2014 World Champion. But the real story of this rally is the second place finish from Ford driver Miko Hirvonen, who will end his 12-year career in WRC on a high note. While Hirvonen was unable to clench a championship title during his time in WRC, his 15 rally wins, the challenge he presented to the irrepressible Sébastien Loeb, and his consistent top performances make him one of the greatest rally drivers in the world.

Finishing the season, we find Latvala in second and Norway's Andreas Mikkelsen in third, with the Manufacturer's Championship awarded to Volkswagen. Citroën and Ford took second and third respectively.

Stage Videos

Stages 1-4

Stages 5-8

Stages 9-12

Stages 13-17

Stages 18-23