SALOU - Triple world rally champion Sebastien Loeb closed the gap on Marcus Gronholm in this season's title race with his third consecutive win in the Rally of Catalunya.
The 33-year-old Frenchman preserved his lead on the final leg to finish 13.8 seconds ahead of Citroen team mate
Dani Sordo and a comfortable 39.8 seconds clear of 2000 and 2002 champion Gronholm.
Gronholm's Ford team mate Mikko Hirvonen was in fourth place ahead of Citroen driver Francois Duval and former world champion Petter Solberg in a Subaru.
Loeb's third victory in a row in Catalunya makes him the most successful driver in the asphalt rally since the event's inclusion in the world championship in 1996.
With four rounds left Gronholm, who will be retiring at the end of the season, leads the standings with 96 points, six ahead of Loeb who has won the title for the last three years.
Hirvonen, the only other driver to have won a rally this season, is in third spot on 74 points, well ahead of Sordo, in fourth on 39.
"The most important thing was to reduce the deficit with Gronholm," Loeb told reporters. "Dani (Sordo) did a great job finishing just behind me as it means we cut back four points."
Gronholm won seven of the 18 stages in Catalunya but paid the price for getting the set-up wrong when the rain came down at the end of the opening day and lost valuable time to Loeb which he was unable to claw back in the succeeding two legs.
Gronholm and Loeb shared the honours in the morning's opening stage, clocking exactly the same time for the 16.32-km trial with Sordo finishing in third spot ahead of Hirvonen.
Sordo continued his impressive run in his home rally with victory in the longest stage of the rally ahead of Loeb and Gronholm.
The Finn won the final two stages as Loeb played it safe and sat on his lead to ensure overall victory.
"I decided not to take any risks, so I didn't cut the corners and I took my foot off a little in some of the dirtier sections," said Loeb.
The next round of the championship is another asphalt rally in Corsica from Oct. 12 to 14. Loeb will be bidding for another hat-trick after winning on the Mediterranean island in 2005 and 2006.
- REUTERS
