Schwarz misses podium, but happy with fourth

The German held third with just two stages to go, but missed out by 21.3s after Delecour put in a last-gasp charge on the final two stages.

"I'm not disappointed at all - it's great for the team," Schwarz told Autosport.com. "Once I saw the drying roads on the second run through the Col de Turini, I knew that Francois would be coming hard and it would be impossible to stop him.

"On the final stage," he added, "we didn't pursue him hard because the gap was so big already."

Skoda's Octavia is under-powered relative to the works machinery from the likes of Ford, Subaru, peugeot and Mitsubishi, but Schwarz said that the car revelled in the mixed snow and ice of each of the three leg's morning stages.

"It feels really, really great in the tricky conditions," he said, "but when you get on dry tarmac, then you notice the difference."

Delecour, who suffered from punctures and mechanical maladies in the opening two days of the event, said: "I was absolutely totally motivated through those final stages - I went max-max! I'm very pleased with the result, but there's still a lot more I can learn about the car."

Skoda was a near-perpetual winner in the world championship's smaller capacity classes in the 1980s and early '90s, but Schwarz's fourth place finish is the best overall result for the Czech team since it made the move into rallying's highest level of competition.

With Bruno Thiry finishing eighth overall, but sixth out of the drivers nominated for manufacturers' championship points, Skoda lies a surprising third overall in the makes' title race on five points, just one behind Ford.