Wilks happy with fitness on return

The Briton is making his return to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge less than three months after fracturing two lumbar vertebrae in his back when he crashed at high speed in Sardinia in early June.

After covering 95 miles during a pre-event test on Tuesday, Skoda Fabia driver Wilks completed six runs of the three-mile shakedown stage, which was held in damp conditions.

"I'm happy with what we've achieved although we could have done with a bit more running just to try out a few different things with the set-up," said the 29-year-old. "It was very wet this morning but the road had good grip. Then it dried and a lot of mud got dragged out and the road became very greasy so it was difficult to see the improvement in time."

Wilks was given the all-clear to return to competition earlier this month. Tuesday's test marked the first time he had driven his Fabia S2000 since his crash in Sardinia on June 5.

"I feel great, no pain or discomfort," said Wilks. "We're back at work now so it's a case of getting on with it. For sure I'm lacking seat time but we're here to do our best and there's no more or less pressure on us."

According to unofficial times, Wilks was ninth fastest in shakedown, 5.1s adrift of pacesetter Juho Hanninen, who tops the IRC drivers' standings in his factory Skoda.