Giandomenico Basso eventually prevailed to claim third place in Russia after a rally-long battle with his team mate Anton Alén and the Proton of Guy Wilks, the Italian's podium slot being the best result for the Abarth factory team this season in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

"It's always great to grab some points after such a difficult rally," Basso said on Saturday afternoon. "Yesterday, we had a water leak and that made us worry about the engine. The balance of the car was not good and we couldn't fix that. Plus I had trouble with punctures and so we need to analyse the data, see what was missing, and use these points to boost our season."

Alén returned to the fray yesterday after taking advantage of the Superally rule following an incident on Friday that saw the wheel ripped off his Grande Punto Abarth S2000. He fought back to finish in fifth place which he however quickly lost following a time penalty was added after the final stage leading him sixth in the final classification. However the Finn does finally get off the mark and pick up his first points (3) of the season. It all means that after the first six rounds of the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge Basso now has collected 17 points and is fourth in the overall standings, behind Kris Meeke (30), Jan Kopecký (29) and Freddie Loix (24).

However with three days and 13 stages behind them, the Skoda team can reflect on a dominant performance in which Hanninen was only beaten to one fastest stage time through the course of the entire event. "Of course, it's great for my second time here in Vyborg and my second Rally Russia victory," Hanninen said at the finish. "Of course, my goal was winning over here, but we all know how difficult this rally was. I did all I can to avoid the rocks. Luck also helped a bit I think. But anyway, the most important thing is that I didn't have any punctures. And it's a 1-2 for Skoda, so a great result!"

For Kopecký, the title fight has now become a reality, slotting in between Peugeot's top drivers Kris Meeke and Freddy Loix at the top of the points table after another measured and mature gravel performance. "Last year, I lost second place after a puncture. So this year I told myself not to push 100%, because the risk is so high," he said. "On a few stages I tried to push a little bit more and the times were not so bad. But Juho was very fast, like last year, and there was no way to catch him. This is the perfect weekend for us and now we can work towards repeating it on home ground in the Czech Republic next month."

Wilks meanwhile recovered from dropping back from third to seventh on Day 2 and ended the rally in fourth place, and that was despite picking up another puncture on SS13. Next man up was Franz Wittmann, celebrating his best-ever finish in the IRC with Ralliart, having gained the position once Alén was hit with a time penalty.

For the local men there were slim pickings to be found on the 2009 Rally Russia. Reigning Russian champion Alesandr Zheludov retired his Peugeot 207, which had run as high as fifth. The attrition rate gave Franz Wittmann a chance to shine, taking his best-ever IRC finish for Ralliart ahead of the similar Evo IX of Boris Zimin. Meanwhile Kaspar Koitla from Estonia not only gave Honda its second successive 2WD victory but also claimed a point for eighth overall.

The next event in Madeira will see the works Skodas sit out the IRC's second Atlantic trip of the season as they focus on repeating their dominance at home on the Barum Rally Zlín in six weeks time giving the Abarth team, which traditionally does well on the island, and particularly asphalt-specialist Giandomenico Basso, a chance to continue chasing points.