The reigning world champion Sebastien Loeb turned up the heat on his main rivals Petter Solberg and Marcus Gronholm and they simply melted away in the Rally of Cyprus over the course of the weekend. Both drivers did not finish the race and Sebastien seized the opportunity to establish a commanding lead of 11 points in the driver’s championship.

Cyprus looks like being the pivotal rally of the 2005 season and, with 10 rounds of the WRC calendar remaining, Sebastien looks increasingly likely to smash his own record for the most wins in a single season. – 15 May 2005