Solberg: Subaru will Fight Back

Loeb made full use of a brilliant tyre choice that was better suited to the warmer than expected conditions to win the event by almost one minute. And despite having little in response to his rival, Solberg was upbeat after the event about how the weekend had turned out - and sure that his team was ready to strike back.

"I am very happy actually," he said. "In the circumstances it's good to take second place and I'd like to thank everyone in the team for their hard work. It's been a good fight with Sebastien, but of course I'd hoped it would be a lot closer. But, it didn't happen like that and so I've got the best result I could.

"At this point in the Championship it's still very close and I think it's going to be a very interesting year. The key thing we have to do is work harder to find some more performance, but we have a good plan and I'm 100 per cent confident that we will succeed."

Subaru's team principal David Lapworth admitted that the warm conditions always meant that his drivers would be struggling, thanks to their soft tyre choice, but he believes that the team know exactly what they need to do to get back onto the top step of the podium.

"In the surprisingly warm conditions we've experienced this weekend it was always going to be difficult to secure a win, especially with Petter running first on the road on leg one," explained Lapworth.

"Petter has driven very well all rally, he and Sebastien made it a two-horse race, but in the end Loeb's advantage on the second run through the stages proved too much.

"The eight points keep the Championship battle wide open and it will be interesting to see what happens on the forthcoming gravel rallies. The next three events form the toughest point of the season and they've been the focus of our preparations for the last few months."

The next round of the WRC starts in Cyprus on May 13. The event is the slowest and hottest Rally of the season, and is traditionally a test of endurance for both drivers and cars.