Loeb running in cruise mode

Although the Citroen driver was only fourth quickest in stage 14 at Riudecanyes, the fact that his teammate Francois Duval appears to have backed off to keep hold of his position means that his lead has now extended to almost one minute and 20 seconds.

The pair are now just one stage away from a 1-2 finish that will secure Citroen the manufacturers' championship.

Although the top two places appear set in stone, there remains a major battle between the privateer Citroen of Xavier Pons and the privateer Ford of Mikko Hirvonen for the final spot on the podium.

Pons had gone into the day with an eight seconds advantage over his rival, but that has been cut down to just 6.5 seconds with only the final stage remaining.

Roman Kresta is in fifth place for Ford, with Peugeot's Nicolas Bernardi running sixth.

Toni Gardemeister was the victim of the only major incident of the day after he went off the road on SS14 at Riudecanyes, causing damage to his Ford. He did make it to the finish of the stage, however, but he was four minutes and 20 seconds off the best time set by Petter Solberg.