"The pace of the car is there and it's going to be a very interesting future with the new Subaru. I'm very happy with the start with this car. The guys are all working very hard; we have to do a little bit more to win, but hopefully soon we can do that."

Petter Solberg's co-driver Phil Mills meanwhile definitely believes that this is the start of a new era for Banbury-based outfit, which has had a tough two to three seasons and now hasn't won since 2005.

"Finland was the debut date for this new car. Four weeks ago the team took the brave decision to bring that date forward to this rally and since then the team has been working 24-hour shifts to get the car sorted out," he added. "I think we have rewarded everybody with this result.

"Hopefully this is going to be the turning point. The team has been working flat-out at the base - I mean literally 24-hour efforts. The whole project has been brought forward by 12 weeks - we're so pleased for what has been a team effort."