# 2012 Rallye de France

The 2012 Rallye de France – Alsace was the eleventh round of the 2012 World Rally Championship season. The rally took place over 4–7 October, and was based in Strasbourg, the capital city of the Alsace region of France. The rally was also the seventh round of the Super 2000 World Rally Championship, and the fifth round of the WRC Academy.
Victor Sébastien Loeb retained his driver champion title in this rally, and the third place of his teammate Mikko Hirvonen allowed Citroën to retain the manufacturer title as well, making this rally a repeat of the 2010 event.

## Results
### Event standings

| Pos. | Driver | Co-driver | Car | Time | Difference | Points |
| Overall |||||||
| 1. | Sébastien Loeb | Daniel Elena | Citroën DS3 WRC | 3:32:53.0 | 0.0 | 25 |
| 2. | Jari-Matti Latvala | Miikka Anttila | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | 3:33:08.5 | 15.5 | 18 |
| 3. | Mikko Hirvonen | Jarmo Lehtinen | Citroën DS3 WRC | 3:33:37.1 | 44.1 | 15 |
| 4. | Thierry Neuville | Nicolas Gilsoul | Citroën DS3 WRC | 3:34:00.3 | 1:07.3 | 14 |
| 5. | Mads Østberg | Jonas Andersson | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | 3:34:09.4 | 1:16.4 | 11 |
| 6. | Ott Tänak | Kuldar Sikk | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | 3:35.20.9 | 2:27.9 | 11 |
| 7. | Evgeny Novikov | Ilka Minor | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | 3:38:44.6 | 5:51.6 | 6 |
| 8. | Chris Atkinson | Glenn MacNeall | Mini John Cooper Works WRC | 3:39:35.4 | 6:42.4 | 4 |
| 9. | Martin Prokop | Zdeněk Hrůza | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | 3:41:39.8 | 8:46.8 | 2 |
| 10. | Sébastien Chardonnet | Thibault de la Haye | Citroën DS3 WRC | 3:41:52.7 | 8:59.7 | 1 |
| SWRC |||||||
| 1. (17.) | Craig Breen | Paul Nagle | Ford Fiesta S2000 | 3:50:11.3 | 0.0 | 25 |
| 2. (18.) | Yazeed Al-Rajhi | Michael Orr | Ford Fiesta RRC | 3:50:48.9 | 37.6 | 18 |
| 3. (24.) | Per-Gunnar Andersson | Emil Axelsson | Proton Satria Neo S2000 | 4:07:44.1 | 17:32.5 | 15 |
| 4. (30.) | Andreas Aigner | Detlef Ruf | Proton Satria Neo S2000 | 4:10:26.6 | 20:15.3 | 12 |
| WRC Academy |||||||
| 1. | Elfyn Evans | Philip Pugh | Ford Fiesta R2 | 3:20:42.6 | 0.0 | 28 |
| 2. | José Antonio Suárez | Cándido Carrera | Ford Fiesta R2 | 3:21:25.1 | 42.5 | 22 |
| 3. | John MacCrone | Stuart Loudon | Ford Fiesta R2 | 3:22:18.0 | 1:35.4 | 17 |
| 4. | Brendan Reeves | Rhianon Smyth | Ford Fiesta R2 | 3:23:49.1 | 3:06.5 | 13 |
| 5. | Fredrik Åhlin | Morten Erik Abrahamsen | Ford Fiesta R2 | 3:24:18.9 | 3:36.3 | 11 |
| 6. | Pontus Tidemand | Stig Rune Skjærmoen | Ford Fiesta R2 | 3:27:57.7 | 7:15.1 | 10 |
| 7. | Timo van der Marel | Erwin Berkhof | Ford Fiesta R2 | 3:35:09.8 | 14:27.2 | 6 |
* Note: ^† – The WRC Academy featured the two first legs of the rally.

### Special stages

| Leg | Stage | Time | Name | Length | Winner | Time | Avg. spd. | Rally leader |
| Leg 1 (4 Oct/5 Oct) | SS1 | 16:30 | SSS Strasbourg | 3.63 km | Thierry Neuville | 2:44.7 | 79.34 km/h | Thierry Neuville |
| Leg 1 (4 Oct/5 Oct) | SS2 | 9:23 | Hohlandsbourg – Firstplan 1 | 28.67 km | Sébastien Loeb | 14:36.1 | 117.81 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 1 (4 Oct/5 Oct) | SS3 | 10:06 | Vallée de Munster 1 | 22.16 km | Sébastien Loeb | 11:18.8 | 117.53 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 1 (4 Oct/5 Oct) | SS4 | 11:22 | Soultzeren – Pays Welche 1 | 19.93 km | Jari-Matti Latvala | 9:49.2 | 121.77 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 1 (4 Oct/5 Oct) | SS5 | 13:56 | Hohlandsbourg – Firstplan 2 | 28.67 km | Sébastien Loeb | 14:28.9 | 118.78 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 1 (4 Oct/5 Oct) | SS6 | 14:39 | Vallée de Munster 2 | 22.16 km | Jari-Matti Latvala | 11:07.0 | 119.60 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 1 (4 Oct/5 Oct) | SS7 | 15:55 | Soultzeren – Pays Welche 2 | 19.93 km | Sébastien Loeb | 9:44.6 | 122.73 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 1 (4 Oct/5 Oct) | SS8 | 18:35 | SSS Mulhouse | 4.65 km | Jari-Matti Latvala | 3:37.7 | 76.89 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 2 (6 Oct) | SS9 | 8:38 | Massif des Grands Crus – Ungersberg 1 | 18.16 km | Sébastien Loeb | 10:58.0 | 99.36 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 2 (6 Oct) | SS10 | 9:36 | Pays d'Ormont 1 | 43.45 km | Sébastien Loeb | 23:20.0 | 111.73 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 2 (6 Oct) | SS11 | 10:47 | Pays de la Haute Bruche 1 | 24.04 km | Jari-Matti Latvala | 11:13.1 | 128.58 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 2 (6 Oct) | SS12 | 11:45 | Klevener 1 | 10.75 km | Stage cancelled | Stage cancelled | Stage cancelled | | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 2 (6 Oct) | SS13 | 14:38 | Massif des Grands Crus – Ungersberg 2 | 18.16 km | Mikko Hirvonen Jari-Matti Latvala | 10:53.8 | 99.99 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 2 (6 Oct) | SS14 | 15:36 | Pays d'Ormont 2 | 43.45 km | Sébastien Loeb | 23:09.9 | 112.54 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 2 (6 Oct) | SS15 | 16:47 | Pays de la Haute Bruche 2 | 24.04 km | Sébastien Loeb | 11:10.8 | 129.02 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 2 (6 Oct) | SS16 | 17:45 | Klevener 2 | 10.75 km | Jari-Matti Latvala | 6:08.4 | 105.05 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 3 (7 Oct) | SS17 | 9:23 | Vignoble de Cleebourg 1 | 17.08 km | Thierry Neuville | 10:11.7 | 100.52 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 3 (7 Oct) | SS18 | 10:46 | Bischwiller – Gries 1 | 7.95 km | Thierry Neuville | 4:19.2 | 110.42 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 3 (7 Oct) | SS19 | 11:16 | SSS Haguenau 1 | 5.74 km | Thierry Neuville | 4:16.2 | 80.66 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 3 (7 Oct) | SS20 | 12:44 | Vignoble de Cleebourg 2 (Power stage) | 17.08 km | Ott Tänak | 10:24.0 | 98.54 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 3 (7 Oct) | SS21 | 14:07 | Bischwiller – Gries 2 | 7.95 km | Thierry Neuville | 4:16.8 | 111.45 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |
| Leg 3 (7 Oct) | SS22 | 14:37 | SSS Haguenau 2 | 5.74 km | Thierry Neuville | 4:03.7 | 84.79 km/h | Sébastien Loeb |

### Power stage

The Power stage was a 17.08 km stage run through the Vignoble de Cleebourg. The three fastest crews through this stage were awarded by drivers' championship points. Ott Tänak was the fastest driver through the stage, earning three additional championship points. Thierry Neuville was second, while Mads Østberg finished third.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Co-driver | Car | Class | Time | Difference | Avg. spd. | Points |
| 1 | 5 | Ott Tänak | Kuldar Sikk | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | WRC | 10:24.0 | 0.000 | 98.32 km/h | 3 |
| 2 | 8 | Thierry Neuville | Nicolas Gilsoul | Citroën DS3 WRC | WRC | 10:24.9 | 0.9 | 98.23 km/h | 2 |
| 3 | 10 | Mads Østberg | Jonas Andersson | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | WRC | 10:25.8 | 1.8 | 98.15 km/h | 1 |