Future looking brighter for Subaru

There was little to choose between Juha Kankkunen and Richard Burns throughout the rally, and both must be filled with confidence as they prepare for the Acropolis Rally in less than two weeks' time.

Clearly, Kankkunen was thrilled to win his first WRC event in five years. The Finn said, 'Not bad for the old man, eh?

'I can honestly tell you that there have been times since I last won five years ago that I might have given it all up, but I have had faith that I was still good enough to win. It feels great.'

Richard Burns was obviously heartbroken to have been pipped at the death by his team-mate, but the Briton remained upbeat.

'Of course I'm devastated not to win - if it hadn't been for the 10-second penalty yesterday, the win would have been mine,' he said.

'But that said, we're a team and Subaru scored a 1-2, so everyone better look out for us in Greece.'

Subaru's dominance was emphasised with a fine performance from Freddy Dor, who crept into the top 10 on the final day, and in doing so, took the FIA Team's Cup for the rally.

Local driver Claudio Menzi finished ninth in an Impreza WRX, giving the manufacturer four finishers in the top10.