Loeb only needs to finish third

Sebastien Loeb remained on course for his second straight world title at the end of day two of the Rally of Japan.

The Frenchman won two of the day's special stages on his way to third spot behind leader Petter Solberg of Norway and Finland's Marcus Gronholm.

"From the start I saw that Gronholm was going at a good speed and I was not able to follow," said Loeb, who only needs to finish third to win the title.

"The tyres were not at all suitable, but I decided to just carry on."

Loeb was more than one minute 30 seconds ahead of the fourth-placed driver Gigi Galli, which leaves him in good stead in the overall title race.

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Leading positions after stage 21:
1 Petter Solberg (Nor) Subaru, 2hrs 34min 23.6seconds
2 Marcus Gronholm (Fin) Peugeot at 32.3secs
3 Sebastien Loeb (Fra) Citroen, at 1min 11.1secs
4 Gianluigi Galli (Ita) Mitsubishi at 2mins 42.7secs
5 Harri Rovanpera (Fin) Mitsubishi at 2mins 43.8secs
6 Chris Atkinson (Aus) Subaru, at 2mins 53.7secs
7 Francois Duval (Bel) Citroen at 2mins 55.6secs
8 Toni Gardemeister (Fin) Ford, at 4mins 5.2secs
9 Roman Kresta (Cze) Ford at 4mins 21.9secs
10 Daniel Carlsson (Swe) Peugeot at 5mins 36.2secs

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