Gronholm pips Loeb to win New Zealand rally

Finland's Marcus Gronholm pipped reigning world champion Sebastien Loeb by 0.3 seconds to win the New Zealand rally yesterday after the closest finish in the championship's history.

Gronholm, driving a Ford, completed the three-day event in a combined time of three hours, 52 minutes and 53.9 seconds to claim a record fifth win in New Zealand and extend his lead in the championship standings to 10 points with five rounds to go.

Loeb was 0.7 seconds behind Gronholm in his Citroen heading into the 18th and final stage and although the Frenchman won the stage he was only able to chip 0.4 seconds off his rival's lead.

Finland's Mikko Hirvonen drove his Ford into third place, one minute, 42.5 seconds behind Gronholm, who celebrated his victory by jumping onto the roof of his car.

"It was an incredible fight all weekend, it's the closest and best battle of my career and fantastic for my championship hopes," Gronholm told reporters.

"It's never been that close before. We could have been sad but, fortunately, it was our day today."

Gronholm and Loeb traded the lead several times over the weekend with the gap between the pair never more than 15 seconds.

Gronholm's victory lifted his points tally to 90, while Loeb, who is chasing his fourth consecutive title, remains in second place on 80 with Hirvonen third on 69. None of the other drivers are in contention for the title.