Loeb adds to France’s winning weekend with victory in Spain

Citroen Sport’s triple FIA World Rally Champion, Sébastien Loeb, closed the gap on championship leader, Marcus Gronholm, with an emphatic victory in his C4 WRC at the Spanish round.

Making it a Citroen 1-2, Loeb and co-driver, Daniel Elena, were followed home by team-mates Dani Sordo and Marc Marti, topping off a triumphant weekend for France, following the national rugby team’s win over the New Zealand All Blacks on Saturday.

Loeb and Elena set five fastest stage times on their way to securing their 34th world championship victory, maintaining a convincing lead over chief title rival, Gronholm, throughout the final day.

“On the final day, I made a point of not taking any risks, not cutting the corners too much and lifting over the dirtier portions,” explained Loeb after the final leg. “Running on hard compound, dry weather tyres, our C4 WRC ran like clockwork, and I am very happy to have won.”

With Gronholm finishing third behind the Citroen pack, Loeb is now just six points behind the championship leader, with four rounds remaining. The next round, again on Sébastien’s preferred asphalt surface, is in Corsica this weekend (Oct 12-14).