“However, on a more positive note, we learned a huge amount about the car and that can only be done on rallies. I've said it before; you can carry out miles and miles of testing, but it isn't until you actually get into the heat of competition that you genuinely find out how a car works.

“We approached this event as a test to see what the car was capable of with a good driver in it, and we have achieved that. We know what steps are necessary on the engine, and we have already made significant improvements to the suspension with even more to come. We knew the first event would be a steep learning curve and we had a bit of bad luck, but we learned that fundamentally it's a good, well-balanced car with huge potential.

“I would say that this has been a successful first outing for the MML Sports EvoX. We have acquired lots of data and information and I'm pleased with that, but at the same time I'm disappointed with the small problems and that we didn't get a better result. We'll now look forward to making those improvements ready for the next event.”

There were more reasons to be cheerful for MML Sports as Csaba Spitzmuller finished second on the Salgotarjan Rally, the third round of the Hungarian Rally Championship and the final tarmac outing of the series, his least favourite surface. Spitzmuller and co-driver Miki Kazar suffered no serious problems aside from several spins on the sealed-surface roads, to claim second on the event and move into the same spot overall in the title standings, with a five-point deficit heading into the gravel phase of the series.