Loeb: Latvala will be a tough rival

The world champion was frustrated by his inability to match Latvala's pace on the opening day in Mexico, although he caught and passed the Finn for the lead later in the event. A turbo problem subsequently dropped Latvala to third.

Latvala graduated from the satellite Stobart Ford squad to the works team this year after Marcus Gronholm's retirement, and Loeb believes the 22-year-old will prove just as tough a rival as Gronholm.

"Marcus Gronholm's absence has already been filled by another Finn who is younger and just as determined," Loeb said. "I think we can look forward to some good scraps this year, and that's fine by me."

Having taken his first win in Sweden last month, Latvala is currently third in the championship - four points behind Loeb and five behind his Ford teammate Mikko Hirvonen.

Latvala hopes his battle with Loeb in Mexico will be the first of many such contests.

"I achieved my goal of being on the podium and it's just a shame we had a problem yesterday when fighting for the lead," he said. "But if I think about things closely, it has been a good weekend and I don't have any complaints.

"The best aspect was being able to challenge Loeb and match his times and I hope I can get just as close to him in the future because I had good speed this weekend."

While Hirvonen still leads the championship by virtue of his consistent finishes in the first three rallies, he admitted that he will need to raise his game to stay ahead of Latvala and Loeb in the standings.

"Jari-Matti and Loeb were very fast and I couldn't reach their pace, but I'll have to find that speed or say goodbye to the championship," he said.