Marcus Gronholm won his first rally of the season in style today to claim the World Championship lead in Cyprus.
The Finn, a two-time world champion already, cruised to victory in his Peugeot, winning by 54 seconds from Citroen's Sebastien Loeb.
Ford driver Markko Martin finished third and slips off top spot in the title race, with Gronholm now leading by just a point from Loeb, with the Estonian a further point down.
Carlos Sainz was fourth for Citroen, with Peugeot's Harri Rovanpera fifth and world champion Petter Solberg sixth after rescuing three points for Subaru despite losing 10 minutes on day one with an overheating problem.
Solberg finished just ahead of team-mate Mikko Hirvonen, with Janne Tuohino's Ford rounding out the points positions.
Gronholm started the day favourite to take victory after inching out a comfortable cushion overnight and he took a huge stride towards the win with a blistering final morning.
He won stage 13 and made it two on the trot on stage 14. Loeb valiantly tried to cut Gronholm's advantage on the next stage with victory but the Finn bounced back to take stage 16 and effectively clinch maximum points, barring any mechanical drama.
Loeb took another win on the penultimate stage before Solberg ended the rally as he started it, with a stage victory.
Leading final positions in the Cyprus Rally:
1. Marcus Gronholm (Finland) Peugeot 4:58:44.5
2. Sebastien Loeb (France) Citroen + 54.0 seconds behind
3. Markko Martin (Estonia) Ford + 1:09.1
4. Carlos Sainz (Spain) Citroen + 3:18.0
5. Harri Rovanpera (Finland) Peugeot + 7:09.0
6. Petter Solberg (Norway) Subaru + 10:23.1
7. Mikko Hirvonen (Finland) Subaru + 10:34.9
8. Janne Tuohino (Finland) Ford + 14:10.7
9. Alistair Ginley (Britain) Subaru + 27:37.8
10. Miguel Campos (Portugal) Peugeot + 39:56.2
Drivers standings (Provisional)
1. Gronholm 34 points
2. Loeb 33
3. Martin 32
4. Solberg 26
5. Sainz 18
6. Francois Duval (Belgium) Ford 14
7. Rovanpera 8
8. Hirvonen 8
9. Tuohino 6
10. Freddy Loix (Belgium) Peugeot 4
Manufacturers standings (Provisional)
1. Ford 53 points
2. Citroen 51
3. Peugeot 47
4. Subaru 36
5. Mitsubishi 5