first day, after misunderstanding a pacenote. The Rally Argentina was dominated by the Citroëns and Loeb drove to his 70th WRC victory. At the Acropolis Rally in Greece, he cruised to an easy win after Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala and Petter Solberg ran into several problems and dropped out of contention. He went on to continue his WRC win streak in New Zealand and in Finland, where he edged out Hirvonen to take his third win in the event. This marked the fourth double win in a row for the Citroën duo. After beating Latvala to the win in Germany, Loeb finished second to the Finn at the Wales Rally GB, after a tight battle for the position with Solberg. In late September, Loeb announced his retirement from full-time rallying, stating that he would compete only in selected events during the upcoming season. He added that he is interested in taking on a new challenge such as the World Touring Car Championship. In his home event, the Rallye de France, Loeb built a cushion over Latvala and title rival Hirvonen on the first two days. He then held Latvala at bay on the wet roads on Sunday, securing a record ninth drivers' title in the World Rally Championship and aiding Citroën to its eighth manufacturers' title. German magazine Auto Bild noted that Loeb was now two world championship titles clear of Schumacher and equal to Valentino Rossi, and dubbed him "the best rally driver of all time and a shining light in motorsport." Former world champion Ari Vatanen opined that Loeb's records are unlikely to be broken. 2013 Loeb competed in five rallies of the 2013 season: Monte Carlo, Sweden, Argentina, Germany and France. He started his partial WRC season with a win in Monte Carlo, and finished last to Sébastien Ogier in Sweden, followed by another win in Argentina. Ahead of his home rally in France, it has been speculated it could be his WRC swansong. It was confirmed on 1 October 2013 as Loeb will continue racing for Citroën, this time for World Touring Car Championship. However, Loeb crashed out on the first stage of day three. The rally was eventually won by Sebastien Ogier. 2014–20 Returning to the WRC after being absent in 2014, in 2015 Loeb participated in the Monte Carlo Rally and finished 8th after a crash. In 2016 and 2017 he did not contest any