Jari-Matti Latvala was one spot lower in the #2
BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT Focus after also utilising the SupeRally. The Finn had a troubled event and he had to stop to change a tyre after clipping a rock in SS1 - something that cost him around 3-4 minutes. He then hit a stone in SS12 and broke his front suspension. It won't be an event he will remember fondly.
Ales Broccoli was next up and took the A7 class honours in his Renault Clio, while Patrick Artru was 14th and secures the Group N ‘win', followed by Eddie Mercier and BP Ford ‘third' driver
Khalid Al Qassimi.
There were only two key retirements, namely
Toni Gardemeister and
Citroen privateer,
Conrad Rautenbach.
Gardemeister was on course for a points finish early on before he was slowed by technical problems on Friday. He was then forced out for good following the final stage on Saturday when his car began to overheat.
Rautenbach went off in SS1 and re-joined the fold on Friday under the SupeRally. He was then running in 21st place overall, until he crashed out again, somewhat embarrassingly, in the Monaco GP circuit super special.
The WRC now heads to Sweden in two weeks time for the second round in the championship and the only all-snow event of the year.
