 Loeb has won 31 World Rallies in an illustrious career |
Sebastien Loeb won the Rally of Portugal and then took a one-point lead in the standings after rival Marcus Gronholm was hit with a time penalty. Frenchman Loeb won the event by 37.1 seconds with Gronholm in second.
But Gronholm was demoted to fourth after all six WRC06 Ford Focus cars were given a five-minute penalty after technical scrutineering.
The scrutineers ruled that the thickness of the rear side windows did not conform to regulations.
"We were disappointed to learn from the scrutineers that the team made an error," said BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson.
"We will launch a detailed investigation into how this could have happened at M-Sport."
Loeb's victory was his second successive win on gravel after his triumph in Mexico three weeks ago.
"It's important for the championship to be competitive on gravel," said Loeb.
 | I won on Saturday when we twice came up with the right tyre choice |
"Now we've won the last two rallies, so we're really looking good for the other rallies and the championship.
"The battle with Marcus will be very hard, but really interesting."
The platform for Loeb's win was created on Saturday when the Citroen driver won all six of the day's stages while Gronholm struggled on the wrong tyres.
Loeb, who led by just three seconds after the opening day, was over 40 seconds ahead going into the final day and sealed victory by taking two of Sunday's five stages.
He is now on 38 points after winning three of the five rounds so far with Gronholm on 37.
"I won the rally on Saturday when we twice came up with the right tyre choice," said the triple world champion.
"That helped me take a slender advantage over Marcus and then when he made a mistake I extended my lead."
The time penalty also affected Finland's Mikko Hirvonen who finished in third but was demoted to fifth.
Rally of Portugal organisers have been fined �25,400 by the FIA after five people were injured in practice on Thursday when Portuguese driver Armindo Araujo's Mitsubishi Lancer left the track. The FIA says the lack of security measures was "inexcusable".
Revised Rally of Portugal result:
1. Sebastien Loeb (Fr) Citroen 3 hours 53 min 33.1
2. Petter Solberg (Nor) Subaru 3:56.47.0
3. Daniel Sordo (Sp) Citroen 3:58.38.4
4. Marcus Gronholm (Fin) Ford 3:59.10.2
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin) Ford 4:00.41.2
6. Daniel Carlsson (Swe) Citroen 4:01.46.3
7. Gianluigi Galli (It) Citroen 4:03.12.7
8. Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin) Ford 4:04.18.0
9. Manfred Stohl (Aut) Citroen 4:06.19.1
10. Andreas Mikkelsen (Nor) Ford 4:07.24.7
Driver standings:
1. Loeb 38pts
2. Gronholm 37
3. Hirvonen 30
4. Sordo 19
5. P Solberg 16
Manufacturer standings:
1. BP-Ford 67
2. Citroen Total 59
3. Subaru 27
4. Stobart M-Sport Ford 21
5. OMV-Kronos Citroen 21
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