Whilst a 1-2 result on the Rally Ireland was not quite enough to keep the manufacturers' title open until the final round of the season, Dani Sordo was more than satisfied to score yet another podium as his first full season as a works Citroen driver comes to a close.

Although he is still looking for that maiden win, second place in Ireland signalled Sordo's fourth consecutive podium finish and a seventh in total, a result that confirms he will end the season fourth in the standings.

Having briefly led on the first leg, Sordo played an adequate supporting role for title challenging team-mate Sebastien Loeb for the remainder of the event, even closing the gap slightly on the final day to finish 53 seconds off the lead.

Although he described the surface as having more mud than tarmac in the end, the young Spaniard was pleased not to have tripped up amongst difficult circumstances.

"It was more of a mud rally than an asphalt event," he said. "There were so many potential pitfalls and it was by no means simple. Our C4 went extremely well in the conditions, though, and enabled us to secure our fourth consecutive podium finish."