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Frenchman Sebastien Loeb moved closer to a fifth consecutive world title when he won the French rally in Corsica.

The Citroen driver has now won 10 times this season and leads Finn Mikko Hirvonen, second in Corsica, by 14 points with two races remaining.

"It's getting better and better," Loeb said.

"To win here in Corsica is a great moment. We were much faster all rally and that's great for me and the team. We'll add another two more points to our championship lead. So okay, we'll see how we get on in Japan."

Ford's Hirvonen had dropped to fifth after losing two minutes 34 seconds because of a puncture on the 13th stage.

However he was fourth after stage 14 and climbed back to finish second ahead of team mate Francois Duval of Belgium and compatriot Jari-Matti Latvala after being helped to win the final stage.

"There was a hole in the road and I didn't have it in my pace notes," Hirvonen said of his mishap.

Despite his own reluctance, the Finn benefited from team orders to move past the Fords of Latvala and Duval.

"If things stay the same we will look to get Mikko the best possible chance of winning the drivers' championship by moving him up to second," Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson had said after the 13th stage.

Ford moved within 23 points of Citroen in the manufacturers' standings after Loeb's team mate, Dani Sordo of Spain, crashed out of the first leg on Friday.

The next race is in Japan from October 31 to November 2.

Reuters