Seven-time world champion Sebastien Loeb won the Rally of Italy yesterday for his 63rd career win and fourth in the race to extend his lead in the standings.

Finland’s Mikko Hirvonen finished in second place with Norwegian Petter Solberg in third.

Loeb’s compatriot and team-mate Sebastien Ogier, who had been bidding for a third successive win of the season, challenged strongly for the podium but he lost his chance when he suffered a broken suspension after hitting a stone on the 17th special stage.

The young Frenchman finished fourth overall.

Loeb gave himself a pat on the back for what he labelled a “dominant” display.

“It’s great, I feel like I had a stylish win because people are usually quite quick to bury me,” said the Frenchman.

“All you need is one small thing to go wrong and people start shovelling you into the ground.

“It’s by far the hardest of my wins in Sardinia because I was always the first to start. It shows we are still very much present, on top of the leaderboard and doing not too bad at all.”