But it might have been...

But it might have been a different story had Petter Solberg’s new Subaru Impreza not suffered a freak engine failure. The Norwegian set a blistering pace on the opening stages, before a rock bounced up into the engine bay and punctured an oil cooler.

“It was only a tiny bit of damage, but enough to drain the system,” explained Solberg who, having not won an event for more than a year, was keen to look at the positives.

“Overall, it’s important to note that we had the winning pace and were leading the rally,” he said. “I’m sure it won’t be long before we’re doing that again.” With the Subaru out of the running, Loeb cruised home to give the new Citroen C4 its first success on gravel.

Marcus Gronholm finished second in his Ford Focus to maintain his lead in the championship, with team-mate Mikko Hirvonen in third. Promising young Brit Matthew Wilson took full advantage of a weak entry to claim eighth place and score the second championship point of his fledgling career.

“It was important for me not to make any mistakes and finish,” said the 20-year-old. “To score my first point of the year is a bonus.”