Loeb delighted

The 33-year-old Frenchman's two-and-a-half minute victory for Citroen over Mikko Hirvonen gave him a two-point championship lead over the Finn and was his 37th WRC victory - further increasing the record that he holds.

And it was also a record fifth on the Monte, moving him clear of Sandro Munari, Walter Rohrl and Tommi Makinen - all of whom triumphed four times on the event.

"More than the fact that this was our 37th WRC victory and our fifth Monte win, I think the most significant thing is the way we won it this year," said the four-time world champion, who won ten of the rally's 19 stages.

"Our C4 performed faultlessly throughout and the set-up we chose for the start proved excellent, which shows how well we worked upstream.

"The C4 and the Pirelli tyres also functioned well together on these aphalt stages which were often damp.

"It is always nice to start the season with a win, but I have no intention of getting carried away because there are some very difficult rallies to come."

The first of those 'difficult' events is the Rally of Sweden in two weeks time, with the snow-covered stages certain to see a stronger challenge from Ford duo Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala than the one they mounted to Citroen in Monte Carlo.