With a lead of more than a minute after day two the 34-year-old Frenchman had a relatively easy job to do on Sunday’s four final stages, and the cancellation of SS18, the second of the day, was an additional bonus.

Ten championship points gives his title defence a boost following a no-score in Sweden when he retired after rolling his car. He remains second in the standings, on 20 points, but is just one point behind the leader Mikko Hirvonen. “There is always a bit more pressure when you are some points behind,” said Loeb. “But okay, I always expected do a good job here in Mexico.”

Speaking after the finish Loeb said he had been pushed hard by Latvala. “This rally has not been so easy and I had a big battle with Jari-Matti, but we got the result we came for finally, so I’m happy about that. Latvala and the Ford have been very strong though. I remember last year we were a bit faster here than the Ford, but now we are very similar, so I hope we will not be behind on the future gravel rallies.”

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