Wilson grabs late eighth place

Bizarrely, the Stobart Ford driver did not move up into the final points scoring position until after the podium ceremony had taken place.

The top eight runners ran through the deciding superspecials first, and then the presentation was held before the remaining competitors were able to complete the rally.

As Stobart duo Luis Perez Companc and Wilson went into the superspecials just 3.3 seconds apart in eighth and ninth, that meant that the destiny of the final point was not decided until after the victorious Sebastien Loeb had collected his trophy and entertained the crowd in the Chateau Carreras Stadium with a series of doughnuts.

However, as Perez Companc had lost nine seconds by stalling at the start of the stage, Wilson always looked more likely to take the point when he finally completed SS22.

He secured it in style by setting the fastest time of all through the stage, putting him 17.7 seconds clear of Perez Companc in the final classification.