Wilks takes JWRC podium for Ford.

Englishman Guy Wilks and his Welsh co-driver Phil Pugh could not hide their delight when they finished third overall in the fourth round of the FIA Junior World Championship, the Rally Finland. A steady mature drive made their first ever visit to Finland, and a rally renowned for its spectacular stages and jumps, a memorable one for the duo as they crossed the finish line in their Ford Puma S1600.

Just ten of the original 19 JWRC contenders left a sunny Jyv?skyl? this morning for the final day of the event. Six speed tests to the west of the town, two to be used twice, comprise the day's schedule and 100.90km of competition lay in wait before the finish back in the town this afternoon.

Starting with a flourish, the duo set fastest time on the day's opening stage, their Ford Puma responding excellently on the fast stages. "It's a bit like a roller coaster out there, but it's an awful lot of fun and the Puma has been fantastic to drive," said Wilks. "Unfortunately on the second stage we lost a lot of time because a rear damper broke and we had to back right off to ensure we made it to the end of the stage. When we finished the stage, we were able to use a steel rod to space the wheel out of the arch to stop it rubbing."

Despite the broken damper, there was still a considerable time buffer between Wilks and Urmo Aava [Suzuki] who had won his own personal battle with Salvador Canellas [Suzuki] for fourth place.

"We knew we had enough time between us so we didn't take any risks," added Wilks. "The only real challenge through the last stage was oversteer but Phil's pace notes, which have been excellent all weekend, didn't let us down. Considering the situation we only lost about a second a kilometre so we did very well. That said it was somewhat of a relief to get back to service!"

The team was able to replace the damper and were happy to find the steel rod spacer had minimised any further damage to the car as a result. As a precaution, the team decided to replace part of the rear beam during the service, but the job proved bigger than expected resulting in a 30 second penalty as the duo were three minutes late out of service.

"To be honest it was better to be safe than sorry and on the following stage we were confident that our Puma would not let us down - and went on to prove that with yet another competitive time," he said.

However coming out of the penultimate stage, Wilks noticed the throttle sticking and prior to starting the last stage managed to fix a temporary repair to the throttle return spring, the youngster using part of the elasticated cord used to hold the spare tire firmly in place in the rear of the car. His quick thinking worked and the Ford Puma powered through the stage and on to the final service.

"I am simply chuffed to bits," concluded Wilks, "Our last podium was third in the Rally of Turkey, but we were definitely not as competitive there as we have been here. It has been a simply fantastic weekend and I am so delighted with this result. I have never been to Finland at all before but I can tell you I will be looking forward to our next trip here!"

Team Birkbeck team manager Rob Arthur had nothing but praise for both Wilks and Pugh. "They have done an exceptional job and have shown all the other competitors just what they and the Ford Puma are capable of," said Arthur, "They have not only approached this rally methodically and thoroughly but gave an incredible team performance and we are very proud of what they have achieved this weekend - their podium place was well deserved."