Jari-Matti Latvala completed a record-breaking event for the Stobart VK M-Sport team with another stunning performance on the final leg of Wales Rally GB as the young Finn gave the privateer Ford team its first clean-sweep of stages victories.

Following on from his six fastest times on leg two, Latvala - being tipped by many as the man Ford might elect to call-up to replace the retiring Marcus Gronholm in the full works team next season - posted the fastest time on each of the final four stages to give him an impressive record of ten quickest times from a possible 17. Not only was that the best performance to date from a Stobart driver, his final leg heroics also marked the first time that a Stobart car has won every stage on a leg of a WRC event.

Unfortunately for Latvala, the problems encountered on the final stage of leg one meant he was only able to finish the event in tenth place, thereby not adding to his own points tally and slipping behind Chris Atkinson in the drivers' championship standings. It also meant that the Stobart team was unable to hold off Subaru in the fight for third in the manufacturers' championship.

"The conditions on this rally were extremely difficult but I was concentrating hard and am very pleased to get so many fastest times," Latvala reflected. "It was very exciting going to the first stage this morning in darkness and heavy rain, we just didn't know what to expect. I had a really comfortable pace throughout the whole rally and was pushing around 95 per cent all the way. I found a good rhythm and just kept at it.

"Yes it's a shame about our problems on Friday but I have shown a very consistent performance and that is important for me. I wanted to improve my driving and I am happy with what I have achieved. It's a shame we couldn't have topped off a great year by claiming third in the manufacturers' championship."

Fellow manufacturer nominated runner Henning Solberg was also unable to break into the points after he too hit problems with his car misting up on leg one. Unable to set the kind of times produced by Latvala over the course of the weekend, he ended the final event of the season down in 14th place.

"This has been a difficult event for me as we didn't start off very well," he said. "After the problems on leg one, there wasn't much we could really do than try and complete all the stages, make some changes to the car and gather important information for the future. The feeling today was a good improvement and this is promising as we head into a new season.

"I was really just concentrating on making my driving better and it was working towards the final stages. So, for me, not the best of events but we did manage to make some good progress from this difficult situation."