Sebastien Loeb was 'honoured' to win in front of his home fans at the weekend, as he romped to yet another victory - his fourth in a row in Corsica, his tenth of the season and the 46th of his career.
Loeb was in a league of his own and stamped his authority on proceedings from the off, in the end winning 14 of the 16 stages and easily taking the honours on the thirteenth round in the World Rally Championship.
The
Citroen star now has a 14-point lead in his battle with
Mikko Hirvonen for the 2008 drivers' championship - and he is virtually certain to take that record fifth title.
"It's always a big honour to win here," the Frenchman reflected. "Winning your home event is always something special. We've had three perfect days. The car worked like a dream and we made no mistakes.
"Over the course of the whole rally we were quicker than our rivals and we did not take unnecessary risks. We have increased our lead in the championship a bit and everything is heading in the right direction.
"It would obviously have been more enjoyable if we had had a fight on our hands, but there's nothing I can do about that. It's not me you need to ask what our opponents will have to do to beat us on this event!
"Our tactic this weekend was to pull gradually clear to begin with, then hopefully control from in front.
"We were helped by our C4 which was both competitive and reliable, while the set-up we chose for this rally enabled us to benefit from the full potential of our Pirelli tyres. We are unbeaten this year on asphalt and we have pulled further clear at the top of the championship standings. The weekend could have been worse!"
Asked about the final leg on Sunday, Loeb admitted that when he heard Hirvonen had hit problems in SS13, he did think about the impact this might have on the championship.
