Henning Solberg had a near miss in the shakedown stage, he was later to roll properly into retirement on the first stage of Day 2.  Photo: Colin McMaster
Bryan Bouffier drove his Peugeot 207 S2000 consistently fast in the mixed conditions to take his maiden IRC win on the most prestigious event of them all.
Second placed Petter Solberg nearly created WRC Privateer history, battling hard with Sebastien Loeb for the win for three days in Wales.
The first manufacturer to build a full WRC car was Subaru. The prettiest incarnation of the Impreza WRC bloodline was the 2000 car, the last of the 3-door Imprezas and the first to be designed by Christian Loriaux.
Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena in-car, a study of perfection.
Gregoire de Mevius, Porsche 911.
Wednesday 1500: Quiet before the storm. With the recce completed, Sebastien Loeb has some quiet time with his wife Severine.
Citroën DS3 WRC
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It is midway through day-6 of the 9 day event and the winner Bjorn Waldegard sits stoically in his battered Porsche 911. This car has just had a large section of the roll cage replaced because of extensive damage sustained after Bjorn lost control in a slippery mud-hole and hit a stranded truck. The repair was expertly effected by the Tuthill Porsche team, who cannibalised a retired 911 to repair Waldegard's version in real African 'back-street-garage' style. Incredibly only 41 minutes in road penalties were lost.
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