Nicolas Vouilloz took his first win of the 2008 Intercontinental Rally Challenge season last Saturday at the conclusion of the Madeira Wine Rally... and it was a moment where everything finally came together for the Frenchman.

"This is my first win of the season, and it has been a long time coming!" he exclaimed, before briefly recapping his week-end on the beautiful Portuguese island.

"The weekend went very well for us. We were fastest on the first stage and we then recovered the lead at the end of the first leg when Bruno (Magalhaes) punctured," he said, referring to the driver who was leading the rally up to that point.

"That's part and parcel of the sport," Vouilloz philosophically added.

"We didn't make any mistakes in our tyre choices, though, and our BFGoodrich tyres performed impeccably," he pointed out. "Although it was important to try not to understeer in order to spare the fronts."

"We went on to win by a handful of seconds. That said, we did take a few risks in the final stage," shared the Peugeot Belgium-Luxemburg driver, whose 207 Super 2000 crossed the finish line with only a 5.4-second lead on Italian driver Giandomenico Basso.

Vouilloz now stands at the top of the IRC standings with 36 points, only six ahead of former co-leader Luca Rossetti.