BP Ford team director, Malcolm Wilson has admitted that he was hoping for more from the Rally Catalunya Costa Daurada than the 3-4 finish they eventually achieved.

Although Ford had the pace and Marcus Gronholm won the most tests of any single driver - eight stage wins, compared to the five of eventual winner, Sebastien Loeb, the M-Sport-run outfit lost too much time on Friday when conditions were changeable and the final test on day 1 was crucial, as Marcus lost 30 seconds to Seb and slipped 50 seconds behind.

Despite failing to beat the C4s though, Wilson reckoned it was still a pretty good result.

"We came here hoping for more than third and fourth but this is still a solid result for our championship challenges," he confirmed.

"We felt the fast roads here would suit our Finns and once the conditions dried, we showed a good pace and matched Citroen's drivers.

"We never under-estimated how difficult these asphalt rallies would be and we must keep the pressure on in Corsica next weekend. Hopefully the sun will shine there!"

Ford TeamRS director, Jost Capito meanwhile was also reasonably content with the outcome, even if Citroen did cut the Blue Oval's considerable lead in the manufacturers' championship, reducing the gap from 46 points to 39.

"A podium for Marcus and a strong fourth for Mikko [Hirvonen] keeps us firmly on track for the manufacturers' championship. But we must remain fully concentrated because we have now reached the point in the season where any slip-up could prove costly," Capito warned.