Sebastien Ogier says he is feeling positive about his performance on the Rally Norway, even if a combination of errors and penalties left him down in an eventual tenth place finish.

The highly touted Frenchman was making his debut on a snow-based rally driving a WRC specification car, but acquitted himself well enough to record three top five stage times over the course of the event.

Briefly running as high as sixth place, the Citroen Junior driver saw his hopes of a stronger result dashed variety of issues, technical and self-inflicted, mostly on the second day, while he also ran up two and a half minutes worth of penalties for being late at time control.

Eventually finishing in tenth position, ahead of team-mates Evgeny Novikov and Conrad Rautenbach, Ogier's occasional flashes of speed over the course of the event gives him confidence for the future.

"I found it quite difficult to find the right pace on the first stage,” he said after SS20. “Afterwards, I was able to relax a bit and attack more in the next two stages. I'm beginning to have a really good feeling at the wheel of the Citroen C4 WRC in these tricky conditions."

"It was a very rewarding rally,” he added. “I'm happy with my performances even though we made a few mistakes. But when the opportunity presented itself, we could be quick. That's a very positive sign for the future."