Despite losing a disastrous five minutes when they rolled their works Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, Ireland’s Craig Breen and Paul Nagle yesterday finished the three day Wales Rally GB in eighth place.

The Waterford-Killarney combination ended Friday’s opening day in sixth position, 33 seconds behind leader Ott Tanak’s Toyota Yaris, having been within ten seconds of top place following the opening loop of five stages.

Saturday morning saw the Irish pair in big trouble, with Breen having very restricted visibility through his cracked windscreen following the roll, and they lost a further four minutes over the remainder of the day’s stages, leaving them ninth heading into yesterday’s five stages, picking up one position during the day.

Tanak’s Toyota narrowly beat Hyundai team leader Thierry Neuville by just eleven seconds, with multiple World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier’s Citroen third, ahead of Tyrone driver Kris Meeke in the second of the Toyotas.