It was a case of business as usual on Sunday night as Sebastien Loeb stood on top of his Citroen with co-driver Daniel Elena after winning the Rally Mexico.
It was the 55th time that the Frenchman had come out on top in a World Rally Championship event, but for the six-time champion it was not just about securing his first win of the new season.
This victory was about setting the record straight and sending a powerful message to the rest of his rivals after he was fairly beaten by Mikko Hirvonen's BP Ford Abu Dhabi car in Sweden last month.
And he achieved his triumph in emphatic fashion with a dominant display in Mexico as he finished 24.2 seconds ahead of the privateer Citroen of Petter Solberg and the Citroen Junior driver Sebastien Ogier.
The result saw him take the championship lead by six points from Hirvonen, who could finish only fifth, and he said: "OK, it's only the start of the championship but I'm really happy.
"We had a really good drive yesterday and a good feeling in the car. It's looking good."
It was a typical masterclass from Loeb. Running second on Friday in difficult conditions, which were always going to favour later runners as a racing line formed in the dusty gravel tracks, he drove superbly to stay within touch of the early leader Solberg.
Then on Saturday, when he had a more favourable starting position, he simply blitzed the field to open up a lead of a minute, which allowed him to ease off on Sunday's final stages to clinch his fourth Rally Mexico win in succession.
"I had a good lead and was not going to take any risks with that when I started first on the road," he said.
"I was just breezing through the last couple of stages trying to keep my concentration.
"It's a good victory; I'm back in the lead of the championship and the points we lost in Sweden we've won back - that's important."
Despite leading on Friday, Solberg was pleased with being runner-up after overcoming Ogier in a thrilling duel for the second spot on the podium.
The Swedish driver trailed his French rival by six tenths of a second going into the 22nd and final stage of the event, but he was quicker by 1.1 seconds over the 4.42km route to gain second place.
"We got second and I'm very happy with that," he said as he celebrated his best result for two years.
It was something of a surprise that Solberg had not deliberately slowed down late on Friday in an attempt to drop down the order and have a better start position on the second day, with his decision to remain at the front meaning he was unable to fight Loeb.
Solberg explained some of the motivation for his strategy was of a commercial nature.
"I could have played a tactical game," he said.
"But in the team we decided it was more important for us to show that we were leading a rally.
"We're still looking for sponsors for this season, and to be ahead of everybody else sends a strong message. Anyway, I needed to learn how to be fast in this car when the road conditions weren't ideal."
Ogier completed the top three, followed by the Ford pairing of Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala, with Henning Solberg rounding out the top six in his Ford Stobart.
@Email:gcaygill@thenational.ae
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Following fashion
Investing is cyclical, buying last year's winners often means holding this year's losers.
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If you chop and change your portfolio too often, dealing charges will eat up your gains.
Running your losers
Investors hate admitting mistakes and hold onto bad stocks hoping they will come good.
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Timing the market
Even the best investor in the world cannot consistently call market movements.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
THE BIO
Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.
Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.
She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.
She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.
Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring the natural world.
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos
Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
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On sale: Now
