Sainz, the 1990 and '92 World Champion, was delighted with the result, his 21st WRC rally win. "When I returned to Toyota it was because I felt it was possible to achieve results like this. However, to be honest, I did not expect that we would win so soon. It has taken a mixture of speed, experience of the conditions to make the right tyre choices with Michelin and a little bit of luck," admitted Carlos.

"We have only just started to work with this car - there is a lot more that we can do to make it even better. Our aim is to go for the championship title and we must be quick on every rally to do this. Right now though, we can reflect on a good start to the season."

Team-mate Didier Auriol staged a fine fightback to finish 14th overall, winning two stages on the final day. He lost valuable time after hitting an ice patch and crashing on the first day, badly damaging his Corolla. "It was frustrating for me. Once the car was repaired it was as quick as before - unfortunately there was too much time to make up."