Hayden Paddon during the FIA World Rally Championship Great Britain. Photo / Getty Images
Kiwi driver Hayden Paddon has had to settle for fourth at Wales Rally Great Britain.
World champion Sebastien Ogier of France won the event in his Volkswagen while Ford's Ott Tanak was second.
Paddon's Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville finished third.
Paddon has mixed feelings after targeting a podium finish before the rally.
"We've had a hard weekend, so to take fourth place isn't too bad," Paddon says.
"We were involved in a tight battle with Thierry for the final podium position, but we weren't able to take the fight any closer to him. All we could do was keep the gap as small as possible to remind him that we were there, but he had it covered.
"It's the second rally in a row where we've just missed out, but there are still plenty of positives to take from this event. We know we have areas where we can improve in these conditions. I've had to work on adapting my driving style this weekend; this experience will be useful for the future.
"We now look ahead to Australia, with some positive momentum and a good road position."
Paddon remains fourth overall, but is now just three points behind Andreas Mikkelson heading into the final round in Australia next month.
Josh Hazlewood grabbed four wickets for Australia’s red-hot pace attack.