Max points for Peugeot as Panizzi wins

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The surprise of the event, however, was the appearance of young star Sebastien Loeb in second. The 27-year old was having his first drive in a Citroen World Rally Car having taken a one-event sabbatical from driving a Citroen Saxo in the Super 1600 championship and stepping into the Xsara WRC with devastating effect.

A final stage charge promoted Colin McRae to eighth place in Sanremo, not enough to get into the drivers' series points, but sufficient to extend Ford's manufacturer series lead to 16 points over Mitsubishi and ensure that, whatever happens on the championship's next asphalt round in Corsica 10 days hence, Ford will continue to lead the championship into the final two rounds in Australia and Britain.

Amid a late burst of rain after two and a half dry days, Tommi Makinen's nightmare debut with Mitsubishi's Lancer Evolution ended on three wheels two stages from home while Subaru's Markko Martin ended the rally 80 metres down a ravine after hitting a wall.

While the overall result makes little change to the WRC standings, the Group N Championship was decided on the penultimate stage. Uruguayan driver and four-time champion Gustavo Trelles crashed out of the event after taking a bizarre tyre choice (dry slicks on the front and intermediates on the back) and handed the title to his only rival, Argentina's Gabriel Pozzo.

After departing the event on the opening stage, Richard Burns will breathe a sigh of relief that he remains in the title hunt with three events to go. Colin McRae, Tommi Makinen, Carlos Sainz and Burns are beginning to look like the only four drivers with a serious chance of the crown and the two Brits have to be considering the possibility of a title showdown on their home event in Cardiff next month.