Loeb encouraged despite defeat

The reigning world champion missed out on the win by 0.3 seconds in the closest ever finish to a WRC event, and despite his deficit in the championship, Loeb believes that his performance bodes well for the remainder of the season.

"It was reassuring to see that we were able to challenge for victory throughout the rally," said Loeb.

"We managed to stay level with Marcus in many places, and that's very encouraging for the rest of the season."

As the title race reaches its climax, Gronholm has been expected to have the upper hand on the gravel events, while Loeb should be the stronger of the two on Tarmac.

Loeb admitted that he was happy to take second place rather than risk losing even more ground to Gronholm on an event that the Ford driver was the favourite to win.

"I pushed as hard as I could but it was always at the back of my mind that eight points for finishing second would be better than a blank scorecard in terms of the fight for the title," he added.

"It rarely comes more frustrating than that, but I am quite good on Tarmac and I usually beat Marcus, so we will see what we can do."

Loeb is 10 points behind the Finn with five rounds remaining, three of which are on Tarmac.