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Sebastien Loeb in his Citroen C4 - Source: Reuters -
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World champion Sebastien Loeb kept his hopes of a sixth consecutive title alive with victory in the Rally of Spain on Monday.
The Frenchman finished 12.0 seconds ahead of Citroen team mate Dani Sordo of Spain in second.
Ford driver and championship leader Mikko Hirvonen was third, 54.1 seconds off the lead.
Loeb's sixth win of the season and the 53rd of his career cut Hirvonen's lead in the drivers' championship standings to just one point with one rally left, in Britain later this month.
"This one was tough because Dani was pushing very hard at the start," Loeb told the World Rally Championship website.
"So we tried to fight but we knew also that we mustn't make any mistakes just fighting together -- it was so important for us to finish," he added.
Hirvonen said the result in Spain set the 2009 series up for an exciting finish in Wales starting on October 23.
"I'm looking forward to it," the Finn said. "I'm waiting for that fight - it's going to be a fantastic weekend. We'll see - it might be a bit exciting."
The one-two finish for Citroen was enough to seal the 2009 manufacturers' title for the French team.
