Bryan Bouffier clinched by far the biggest win of his career by cruising to victory in the Monte Carlo Rally.
Prior to this year's Monte, Bouffier had never even scored an Intercontinental Rally Challenge point, having been quick but luckless on his previous appearances.
But the reigning French champion took control of the Monte with an inspired tyre choice and perfect drive on the rally's only two snow-hit stages - which turned the leaderboard inside out.
"It's fantastic, really fantastic, I'm so happy," he said. "I had big pressure, but I was thinking about the end of the stage. There was a lot of emotion, it's fantastic.
"Monte Carlo for a rally driver is really amazing, especially this year with lots of fantastic drivers and amazing weather conditions."
Pos Driver Car Time/Gap 1. Bryan Bouffier Peugeot 3h32m55.6s 2. Freddy Loix Skoda + 32.5s 3. Stephane Sarrazin Peugeot + 51.9s 4. Guy Wilks Peugeot + 1m19.7s 5. Francois Delecour Peugeot + 1m22.4s 6. Juho Hanninen Skoda + 1m29.3s 7. Nicolas Vouilloz Skoda + 4m47.8s 8. Jan Kopecky Skoda + 7m45.9s 9. Giandomenico Basso Peugeot + 8m46.0s2003 WRC Champion Petter Solberg finished 7th but later lost it after he retired road section after the final stage
