He is two minutes and 17 seconds clear of closest challenger Mikko Hirvonen, with Daniel Sordo lying third.

BBC: Marcus Gronholm had won four of the six stages on day one

Ford's Mikko Hirvonen took second ahead of Spain's Dani Sordo, who consolidated his third place in the title race.

BBC: SPORT | Motorsport | Rallying | Loeb makes it five wins in a row

Sordo, who had won three stages, suffered technical problems when smoke poured from his vehicle when he was in second place.

CNN: Loeb holds rally lead as Sordo quits

Hirvonen claimed eight points as runner-up -- a finish made easier by the retirement of Loeb's team-mate Dani Sordo on Saturday.

CNN: Loeb lands record fifth Monte Carlo win

Spain's Dani Sordo took another solid third for Citroen with Norwegian Petter Solberg once again impressing by taking fourth place in his dated 2006 model Citroen Xsara.

CNN: Unstoppable Loeb makes it four from four

The final day of the race started with the withdrawal of Italian driver Gianluigi Galli, who pushed Sordo hard for a place on the podium on Saturday.

BBC: SPORT | Motorsport | Rallying | Loeb makes it five wins in a row

Evgeny Novikov (Citroen Junior) finished the day in fifth place after rivals Henning Solberg (Stobart Ford), Dani Sordo (Citroen) and Mads Ostberg (Adapta Subaru) all hit problems.

CNN: Hirvonen slashes Latvala's rally lead

VALENCE, France -- Sebastien Loeb held a 10.6 seconds lead after the third day of the Rally of Monte Carlo but his Citroen team mate Dani Sordo was forced to retire with turbo problems.

CNN: Loeb holds rally lead as Sordo quits