Gronholm upbeat for title showdown

The Ford driver extended his championship lead to 10 points with the smallest winning margin in WRC history, and he believes that despite his advantage in the standings, Sunday's result was a crucial one in the championship with just five rounds to go.

"This win is fantastic for my championship hopes," he said. "It's good to extend my championship lead and I think that it's going to be a great end to the season."

Gronholm added that he believes the key to his success was his experience, as he was able to keep his head while under pressure from Sebastien Loeb.

"I stayed calm in the car and that's something I've learned from many years' practice of attacking," he said.

"It's the closest and best battle in my career and I'm delighted to have won it. There wasn't room for a single missed gear change."

Gronholm feels that his victory helped make up for his error in Rally Germany, where he dropped from second to fourth with a late crash.

However, the Finn believes that he will be stronger on the three remaining Tarmac rallies, where Loeb tends to have the advantage.

"It was good to get a few more points than Seb because I made a mistake in Germany and lost some points, so it's good to have them now," he added. "For me there will be better rallies than Germany."