Solberg buoyant despite defeat

Having struggled on the preceding asphalt events, Solberg had been determined to win this rally.

He led after the first full-length stage, but then lost time after hitting a gate post. The impact knocked co-driver Phil Mills' window out and allowed the car to fill with dust.

Several punctures, an incorrect tyre choice for Saturday's wettest stages, a penalty incurred for being late into a time control after the car fell off its jacks during a tyre swap, and then power steering problems on Sunday morning all hampered Solberg further.

Despite this list of impediments, he still finished little over half a minute behind winner Sebastien Loeb.

"If you look at everything that happened this weekend, I'm quite happy," Solberg said.

"I shouldn't complain because when everything worked well we were very, very fast and winning stages, so it's not bad at all.

"I guarantee you - on the next gravel rally, if we don't have any problems, we will win."