john the tinca
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Loeb closes gap with Mexico winDefending champion Sebastien Loeb wrapped up an easy win at the Rally of Mexico to close the gap on championship leader Mikko Hirvonen by one point.
Loeb, who led from the second day, guided his Citroen through the final four stages to win by a margin of one minute and 0.6 seconds.
Australian Subaru driver Chris Atkinson was second with Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala, who led on day one, third.
The win was 34-year-old Loeb's 38th victory, a record for the championship.
Hirvonen was fourth and now has 21 points to Loeb's 20 with Latvala on 16 after three rounds.
Loeb's victory saw the Frenchman, who is chasing a fifth world crown this season, claim a third consecutive win in Mexico.
"There's always a bit more pressure when you are some points behind," said the Frenchman, who had crashed out in Sweden last month.
"But OK, I always expected to do a good job here in Mexico.
"This rally has not been so easy, I had a big battle with Jari-Matti but we got the result we came for finally," he told the official wrc.com website.
Briton Matthew Wilson was sixth for Stobart Ford.
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