Giandomenico Basso, who needed a top result on the Rallye du Valais to stand any chance of taking the title fight to the final round, ended up finishing in fifth place after fighting back from three punctures that cost him more than two minutes; meanwhile Anton Alén finished sixth and Umberto Scandola retired.

Abarth factory driver Giandomenico Basso, who needed a top result on the Rallye du Valais to stand any chance of taking the title fight to the final round, ended up fifth after fighting back from three punctures that cost him more than two minutes. He won the first stage of the rally, but dropped progressively down the field to seventh place. A big effort on the final leg today saw him make up two places and claim four championship points, but they are not enough to keep his title hopes alive.

Despite his relative lack of asphalt experience, Basso's team mate Anton Alén recorded his best-ever sealed-surface finish to claim sixth overall. Perhaps encouraged by a flying visit to the Rallye du Valais from his friend and reigning Formula 1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen, Alén did not put a foot wrong during all three days of the Swiss event.

Abarth’s third factory driver Umberto Scandola, who led after the opening day retired after he broke the suspension on his Grande Punto Abarth in SS5 yesterday morning, while the similar, Grifone-entered machine of local hero Olivier Burri also stopped before SS6 with a mechanical problem.

With the fading of Basso's title challenge, it was left to Peugeot Belgium to enjoy an extremely successful outing on the Rallye du Valais in Switzerland, the final European round of the IRC, with Freddy Loix claiming his third win of the year and Nicolas Vouilloz finishing second to claim the IRC drivers’ title. Although one round remains, Vouilloz cannot now be caught in the drivers’ standings. Loix has now moved up to second in the drivers standings.

Vouilloz moved into the lead on the first stage of day two, the 40-kilometre Les Cols stage. By winning this stage with an astonishing margin of 14 seconds thanks also to a clever tyre choice, the Frenchman took the rally lead and maintained it right up until the final afternoon. He lost a bit of time with a puncture on SS13, and then concentrated on ensuring a safe finish to guarantee his championship title during the final four stages. Loix, who set five fastest stage times over the course of the event, moved in front on SS15 and won the rally by 4.5 seconds after an entirely trouble-free run.

The two Peugeot Belgium cars were in a league of their own, as the third-placed finisher, the recently-crowned European Champion Luca Rossetti (Peugeot Italy), was nearly a minute behind the leaders at the finish. Apart from an incorrect tyre choice on Thursday’s three stages, the Italian encountered no problems throughout the three days of the rally. Behind him was Peugeot Poland driver Bryan Bouffier in fourth. Bouffier picked up a puncture on Saturday, but also enjoyed a clean drive to the finish.

Behind Basso and Alén the final two points-scoring places were claimed by local man Gregoire Hotz (Peugeot), who set fastest time on SS14 and finished seventh, ahead of Peugeot Hungary’s Janos Toth. Local driver Joel Rappaz claimed the 2WD Cup honours in Switzerland, driving a Honda Civic.