Rautiainen wins Inmarsat Star of Rally award.

Timo Rautiainen, co-driver to Marcus Gronholm at Peugeot has been awarded the Inmarsat Star of the Rally in Turkey for his courageous performance following a freak incident on the second leg of the event.

Nicky Grist former co-driver and head of the panel of judges said: "Timo has shown true dedication on this event. In what is one of the hardest rallies of the year, and under very stressful working conditions he endured an extreme amount of pain when a metal rod not only pierced the floor of the car but also the underside of his seat causing injury.

"Timo has really demonstrated true courage and resilience to continue not only on the rally, but to read his pace notes to get them to the end of the stage. This proves that Timo has really competed by the seat of his pants!"

On receiving his Inmarsat award, Rautiainen said, "I am happy to win this award, but although we can laugh about it now, I have never experienced so much pain. Thank you very much for recognising what was a real test of endurance."

A brave and undeterred Rautiainen still managed to co-drive Marcus Gronholm and the Peugeot 307 to a second place finish overall on Rally Turkey.