Rally Guanajuato Mexico

17:54 Rally Mexico draws to a close

So there we have it; Sebastien Loeb wins in Mexico. It's been a captivating rally of attrition, one that was bruising for both the cars and drivers, but Loeb showed his class to take his first win of the 2011 WRC season. Mikko Hirvonen takes a fine second position having avoided car trouble throughout the rally, and he wins the Power Stage to score 21 championship points and retain his lead in the title hunt. Jari-Matti Latvala finished third, with Petter Solberg claiming fourth after a challenging weekend. Many thanks for following Rally Mexico here on Live Text. Same place for Rally Portugal, 24-27 March.

17:50 Loeb delights in Mexico win

"That was a very hard weekend. We've had nearly a perfect weekend," says Loeb. "A few troubles, but not so much for a new car. The DS3 is very fast." Meanwhile, Mikko Hirvonen takes three points for winning the Power Stage.

17:48 Loeb wins Rally Mexico

Sebastien Loeb wins Rally Mexico and sets the second fastest time through the Power Stage, scoring a further two points.

17:46 Hirvonen flies on Power Stage

Mikko Hirvonen takes 2.1s out of Petter Solberg on the Power Stage and finishes second on Rally Mexico. "It's been a great start. It's been a funny rally; good old consistent me. I couldn't match the Citroens for speed so I took it steady."

17:45 Latvala through Power Stage

Jari-Matti Latvala drops 0.4s to Petter Solberg on SS22 but finishes the rally in third position. "It feels good. I didn't expect this because I've been losing so much time. I'm happy for the team. I really tried hard [on the Power Stage] but it seems Petter was a bit quicker."

17:42 Petter Solberg goes even quicker

Petter Solberg, who's determined to win the Power Stage, sets the fastest time so far with a 4m 42.5s. He finished Rally Mexico in fourth position. "It's been really enjoyable. This morning I was just driving really slow. I really hope to get three points, but the [road] cleaning is quite tough."

17:39 Ostberg fastest so far on SS22

Mads Ostberg reaches the end of the Power Stage in 4m 48.3s, fastest so far, and finishes Rally Mexico in fifth position - a fine result following his second overall on Rally Sweden. "I'm so happy to be here at the end. We've been quite clever on this event not doing anything stupid. This result is much better than we hoped for."

17:33 Henning Solberg fastest so far on Power Stage

Henning Solberg completes the Power Stage, setting a time of 4m 49.5s, and finishes Rally Mexico in sixth position. "It's a great finish. I've been working hard to get here - six stages without power steering!"

17:32 Al-Attiyah wins SWRC

Nassar Al-Attiyah reaches the end of the Power Stage to win the SWRC category on Rally Mexico. He set a time of 5m 8s on SS22. "Fantastic! It's been a hard weekend but I'm so happy. I hope we keep going like this."

17:30 Prokop completes Power Stage

Martin Prokop reaches the end of Rally Mexico and is set to score 18 points for the SWRC championship. Prokop stopped the clock on SS22 at 5m 4.9s. "I'm very happy. I'm happy that we're in front of the Skoda [of Hanninen]. A good start for our season."

17:27 Hanninen through SS22

Juho Hanninen completes the Power Stage in 3.7s slower than Block and looks set to score third in the SWRC championship. The Finn rolled lightly on the penultimate stage. "I need to win the next rallies, third place is not enough."

17:20 Block completes Rally Mexico

Ken Block reaches the end of the Power Stage, bettering Federico Villagra by more than a minute.

17:17 Villagra limps through SS22

Fedrico Villagra completes the Power Stage in 5m 59.6s, having driven through short of competitive pace.

17:10 Stage Begin - SS22 Guanajuato Power Stage (8.28km)

After a short delay and with the order reversed, Fedrico Villagra gets the final stage of Rally Mexico underway. The lead WRC crews will contest the Power Stage in a few minutes' time.

16:59 Block struggles through SS21

Ken Block completes SS21 having dropped 20m 2.9s.

16:56 Rally Mexico finale beckons

The WRC crews are prepared to tackle the final round of the rally, the live televised Power Stage. Three championship points are awarded to the fastest driver over this 8.28km test, with the second fastest collecting two points and the third a single point. Seven-time world champion Sebastien Loeb leads the rally by 1m 40.5s following Sebastien Ogier's dramatic retirement, with Mikko Hirvonen in second position, 43s ahead of team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala. Petter Solberg holds fourth position; the Norwegian has made no secret of his ambitions to win the Power Stage, which gets underway in ten minutes.

16:50 SWRC crews through SS21

With just the Power Stage yet to run, Nassar Al-Attiyah leads the SWRC field by 16.6s ahead of Martin Prokop. Juho Hanninen's pursuit of the runner-up position came to an end as he dropped almost a minute to Prokop on the penultimate test. Hanninen now lies 1m 18.5s off his rival.

16:46 Villagra through SS21

Ford Fiesta RS WRC driver Federico Villagra completes SS21, setting a time of 16m 38.7s. Just the 8.28km Power Stage separates him from the end of Rally Mexico.

16:45 Block stops mid-stage

Ken Block's troubles continue as his Ford Fiesta RS WRC stops on SS21. The American driver had lost 1m 9.3s to stage winner Jari-Matti Latvala by the fourth split.

16:35 Henning Solberg through SS21

Henning Solberg reaches the end of SS21 with a time of 15m 40.2s, dropping 28.9s to Jari-Matti Latvala.

16:32 Hanninen drops time in SS21

Juho Hanninen's fight for second in the SWRC appears to have been scuppered as he drops time in SS21. At the third split, the Finn was 14.8s slower than Martin Prokop.

16:31 Petter Solberg through in 15m 35.1s

Petter Solberg stops the clock on SS21 at 15m 35.1s, 23.8s slower than stage winner Jari-Matti Latvala.

16:26 Petter Solberg and Ostberg through SS21

Petter Solberg reaches the end of the penultimate stage as he continues his cautious approach. The Norwegian isn't in danger of losing his fourth position, and he's now switched his focus to winning the Power Stage - and the three championship points that go with it. Meanwhile, Mads Ostberg finishes SS21 in 15m 30.4s.

16:18 Latvala quickest on SS21

Jari-Matti Latvala takes 12.6s out of Mikko Hirvonen's advantage on SS1 by setting a time of 15m 11.3s. 43s still separates the Ford duo with a single stage yet to run.

16:15 Henning Solberg starts SS21 late

Henning Solberg will enter SS21 late after stopping on the road section to change the alternator belt. The sixth-placed Norwegian holds a 2m 37.5s lead over seventh-placed Nassar Al-Attiyah.

16:13 Hirvonen through SS21

Mikko Hirvonen reaches the end of SS21, dropping 2.7s to Sebastien Loeb. Hirvonen's second position looks to be secure with one stage to run.

16:10 Loeb reaches stage end

Seasbtien Loeb reaches the end of SS21 with out issue, setting a time of 15m 21.2s. Just the 8km Power Stage stands between Loeb and a fifth Rally Mexico win.

15:52 Stage Begin - SS21 Comanjilla (24.59km)

With a 1m 37.8s lead over Mikko Hirvonen, Sebastien Loeb enters the penultimate stage.

15:31 Crews ready for penultimate test

The WRC drivers are prepared to tackle SS21, the 24.59km Comanjilla test. The stage gets underway in 20 minutes, with the lead drivers all expected to drive steadily until the final test, the Power Stage.

15:29 Tanak through SS20

Ott Tanak returns to SWRC competition for the final day of Rally Mexico under Superally, and finishes SS20 in 22m 0.7s, 55.6s slower than SWRC stage winner Juho Hanninen.

15:23 Prokop and Hanninen close on Al-Attiyah

Martin Prokop took 15.5s out of SWRC leader Nassar Al-Attiyah on SS20, while Juho Hanninen cut Prokop's advantage by 7.7s. Al-Attiyah's lead now stands at 23.1s, with Hanninen 22.4s behind Prokop. With two stages to go, will we see any changes to the SWRC standings?

15:22 Block and Villagra through SS20

Monster World Rally Team driver Ken Block reaches the end of SS20 having restarted the event under Superally. He stops the clock at 20m 49.7s, dropping 39.5s to stage winner Sebastien Loeb. Meanwhile, Federico Villagra completes the test in 20m 45.6s.

15:16 Ogier unable to continue

Sebastien Ogier won't continue on Rally Mexico following his SS20 crash. The Frenchman was leading the rally when his DS3 WRC left the road.

15:07 Henning Solberg through SS20

Henning Solberg drops 52.9s to Loeb on SS20. He too is aiming to complete the rally in his current position, but he will push hard on the Power Stage in pursuit of more points. "I have a problem with my right brake cylinder. I try just to finish now. We are sixth, which is a good position."

15:06 @LastDitchRacing on Twitter

Some are lamenting Ogier's off, but having driver's push on the third day creates drama. Nothing exciting about a Sunday drive

15:05 Ostberg through SS20

Mads Ostberg reaches the end of SS20 having dropped 29.2s to Sebastien Loeb as he targets the end of the rally. "I have two spare tyres. I don't feel like taking any risks now. I don't have a chance on the Power Stage. We have many good points, there's no point in wasting them. I'm very happy."

15:03 Petter Solberg reaches stage end

Petter Solberg drops 23.2s to Sebastien Loeb has he looks to cruise through to the end of the rally. He has a healthy margin to the car behind, but he's focused on winning the Power Stage and the three championship points that go with it. "I'm just driving very, very slow. I don't have any wheel spin or anything. I only have one spare tyre because I want a light car to win the Power Stage."

14:58 Latvala through SS20

Jari-Matti Latvala drops a single tenth of a second to Sebastien Loeb on SS20, having risen to third. "It looks surprisingly good. It's a shame for Ogier, he was driving really well. I was not pushing at all."

14:56 Hirvonen climbs to second

Mikko Hirvonen reaches the end of SS20 having risen to second position overall following Sebastien Ogier's crash. The Finn stops the clock at 20m 28.1s, dropping 17.9s to Sebastien Loeb. "I'm really just taking it easy. I don't need to rush."

14:53 Loeb reaches end of SS20

Sebastien Loeb reaches the end of SS20 having inherited a comfortable lead following Sebastien Ogier's crash. Loeb sets a time of 20m 10.2s. "I was not happy to see [Ogier] there. It's not so nice to push between team-mates. I'm fighting for the championship so I had to push."

14:44 Ogier breaks wheel

Sebastien Ogier has broken the front-left wheel of his DS3 WRC in the crash that cost him the lead of Rally Mexico. Unless Ogier can replace the wheel by the side of the stage, he'll be forced to retire and will miss out on scoring any championships points at all.

14:42 Ogier off the road

Sebastien Ogier's Citroen DS3 WRC has left the road on SS20. This hands the leads to team-mate Sebastien Loeb, who'll now cruise to the finish.

14:41 Loeb passes Ogier

Sebastien Loeb passes Ogier on SS20. This means the younger Frenchman will have lost st least three minutes, which will drop him to fourth. He might not make the end of the stage, though...

14:38 Ogier stops mid-stage

Sebastien Ogier, rally leader, stops 14kms into SS20.

14:31 Novikov and Wilson sit out day three

Ford Fiesta RS WRC drivers Evgeny Novikov and Matthew Wilson will sit out the final day of Rally Mexico following their troubles yesterday. Ken Block, however, will compete today.

14:28 Stage Begin - SS20 Guanajuatito (29.13km)

Sebastien Ogier gets the final day of Rally Mexico underway.

14:25 Drivers ready for Mexico showdown

The WRC crews are prepared to tackle the final three stages of the weekend, the first of which, Guanajuatito, gets underway in just three minutes. Sebastien Ogier leads Citroen team-mate Sebastien Loeb by 10.5s; these stages won't take much sweeping as they've partly been used already this weekend, so Ogier is unlikely to drop significant amounts of time as he runs first on the road.