Chris Atkinson maintained his fantastic start to the 2008 season by taking yet another podium on the Jordan Rally on Sunday, his fourth of the year and his third in succession, following two second places in Argentina and Mexico.
The Aussie opted for a sensible pace throughout the three-days and his patience paid off as he slowly climbed up from seventh to take the final spot on the rostrum, gaining a spot on day 2, when
Sebastien Loeb went out and then moving up again on day 3, this time when
Jari-Matti Latvala hit problems in SS18 and dropped back.
While he was someway off the top two at the finish, the result allows him to consolidate his third place in the drivers' championship and he is now just two points off Sebastien Loeb and seven off
Mikko Hirvonen, who leads with 35 points on the board.
"We scored good points again and it's good for us and good for the team as it keeps us close to the guys at the front of the championship," said Chris.
"It was a difficult rally for us as almost from the start we were in the middle of nowhere with big gaps in front and behind of us. We managed to go along at our own pace though, keeping it on the road.
"We had some hard times when things weren't going well but we managed to get through. It was a bit of misfortune for others, but lucky for us. Sometimes that's just how it goes.
"We've still got a lot of work to do and we want to be more competitive on pace and pushing for wins, but four podiums from five rallies is a very consistent start for us so with that I'm happy."
Subaru boss David Richards meanwhile was delighted to see his #2 driver again do so well, especially as
Petter Solberg failed to finish in the sister car, after crashing out in the final stage on Saturday due to brake problems.
Richards was also happy as the Banbury-based outfit haven't had three consecutive podiums finishes since Solberg took a trio of top three finishes in Mexico, New Zealand and Sardinia back in 2005.
