Jari-Matti Latvala has admitted that he achieved more than he thought was possible this year.

Latvala, who has since been promoted to the Ford 'A' team to fill the void left by Marcus Gronholm's retirement, notched up 30 points in total.

In the end he finished eighth in the drivers' championship - just 1 point behind Subaru's Chris Atkinson and four behind Henning Solberg, who drove the other Stobart Ford Focus RS WRC car nominated to score manufacturers' points. It was a remarkable performance, especially considering it was his first full-season in a World Rally Car.

"At the start of this year I set myself some goals and have achieved more than I thought I would so it really has been quite fantastic," reflected the Finn.

"Prior to this year my best result was fourth place so for 2007 I wanted to do better and in Ireland we achieved this by finishing on the podium next to Sebastien [Loeb] and Dani [Sordo]."

Asked about the year just gone in more detail, the 22-year-old added that he has a number of special memories: "For me there have been five things that really stand out," he continued. "My first ever fastest stage time came in Norway then in Sardinia I lead a WRC event for the first time.

"The third was in Germany when I got my first tarmac point; this meant a lot as I have had lots of accidents on tarmac in the past.

"Fourth was the podium in Ireland and the fifth best moment this year was Rally GB and winning more than half the stages in the rally, this is something I didn't think I could achieve so early in my career."

Ford boss, Malcolm Wilson and Stobart Group CEO, Andrew Tinkler meanwhile were both delighted with Latvala's performances and the form of the Stobart team as a whole, especially as Subaru only narrowly took third in the manufacturers' - six points ahead.

"This season has seen a big step up in performance from last year and the team can be rightly proud of the job they have done," Wilson Sr stated. "It has been one of the strongest performances in the WRC by a private team and we have created a great platform to build upon for next year. For a private team to be setting fastest times, leading events and grabbing podium finishes is a fantastic achievement.