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Sebastien Loeb in his Citroen C4 - Source: Reuters
Frenchman Sebastien Loeb remained firmly on course for an unprecedented sixth consecutive world title by taking control of the Rally of Argentina as his nearest rivals faltered on Sunday.
After beginning the day in third place, Loeb overhauled both Citroen team mate Dani Sordo and Ford's Mikko Hirvonen to open a 58.6 second lead after the second day of the race through the Sierra de Cordoba, 700 kilometres northwest of Buenos Aires.
Capitalising on an ideal start position of third on the road, Loeb attacked early, went fastest through each of the morning's stages and returned to the midday service in first place, 7.3 seconds ahead of nearest title challenger Hirvonen.
The Finn responded with a stage win on the afternoon's first stage but Hirvonen's hopes of catching the Frenchman, who he trails by 10 points in the standings, disappeared on the next, when an overheating engine brought about his retirement.
Sordo blamed his starting position for his drop down the order after ending the day almost a minute behind Loeb in second, while Hirvonen's Ford team mate Jari-Matti Latvala moved up to third overall, a further 42 seconds behind.
Minor scare for Loeb
Loeb, who had a minor scare when he ran off the road during the first stage of the day, is aiming for a fifth straight win in Argentina and also to maintain his 100 percent record this season after his victories in Ireland, Norway, Cyprus and Portugal.
"I pushed hard from the start to the end today, I was on the limit everywhere and now we have lead of almost a minute, so it's been a great day," Loeb told the sport's official website.
"It was really a good fight with Mikko, so I was disappointed when he went out because now the race is not the same.
"Also, when it comes to the championship, if we can finish like this then there will be a big gap -- so that's not so nice."
Looking ahead to Monday's final leg, Loeb said he would adopt a conservative approach to ensure he finishes ahead of the pack.
"Tomorrow, the most important thing for me is to keep the car on the road," he added. "We have a big lead over Dani so don't have to take big risks."
Norwegian brothers Petter and Henning Solberg are fourth and fifth respectively but neither are close enough to mount a serious challenge to the leaders.
