Sebastien Loeb wrested the initiative in the World Rally Championship title race from Marcus Gronholm with victory in Rally Ireland.

Marcus Gronholm ended Sebastien Loeb’s winning streak on the Monte Carlo Rally today to take an early lead in the world championship.

World champion Sebastien Loeb completed a clean sweep of stage wins on the Monte Carlo Rally today but he was left needing a stroke of luck to keep his Principality winning streak alive.

World champion Sebastien Loeb’s bid for a fourth consecutive Monte Carlo Rally win was thrown off course by a heavy accident on stage six today.