It was a thrilling weekend in Wales for Petter Solberg and co-driver Phil Mills as they chased points for the benefit of the Citroen Junior Team at the World Rally Championship's final round of the year, Rally Great Britain.

It was also the duo's first time on gravel at the controls of their new C4 WRC, having competed on asphalt on the preceding round in Spain.

The weather conditions were typically Welsh - meaning there was rain, wind and fog on the stages, causing very muddy and slippery roads. A problem with the windscreen wipers cost them some time on Saturday, when the equipment refused to function other than on a slow setting in the drenching rain and flying mud.

By Solberg's own admission there were a couple of driver mistakes as well, but until the penultimate stage, he remained locked in a duel against Citroen's Dani Sordo for a podium position.

Having faced such tricky conditions and despite the delays caused by the malfunctioning wipers, the Norwegian crossed the finish line in fourth place, 21 seconds away from Sordo yet satisfied with the knowledge that he gained pace as the rally progressed.

"I am very pleased with the result here," Solberg said. "The car worked good, and considering I didn't test in wet conditions, the weekend has been fantastic. I've been improving the whole weekend, and we had some really fast splits at the end.

"I want to thank Citroen for giving me this opportunity, and my fantastic team for their effort," the Norwegian said at the finish line. "It was too bad we were so unlucky yesterday, and I tried really hard today to beat Sordo but it just wasn't enough."

The 2009 World Rally Championship is now complete; the next season kicks off in Sweden in February 2010.

Solberg's plans are unclear for the moment. Although he definitely intends to enter a full WRC campaign next year, the privateer is still looking at his car options and has already established contact with both Citroen and Ford.