Subaru driver Petter Solberg delivered a faultless performance at the wheel of his Banbury-built Impreza WRC2003 in the Cyprus Rally to claim the second victory of his career.

Contesting one of the toughest events in the WRC calendar, the Norwegian won by just over four minutes, the 28-year-old and his co-driver Phil Mills won five of the final day's six stages, collecting ten points in both the drivers' and manufacturers championships.

Their victory marks an impressive 36th WRC win for Subaru.

Teammate Tommi Makinen was forced to withdraw from the event after a broken wheel on the sixth stage caused him to exceed the time allowed on the following road section.

Subaru World Rally team principal, David Lapworth, said: "The whole team was delighted with the win.

"We've worked very hard for 12 months, and focused on being strong on this type of event.

"The competition has been very tough, but we've been able to combine the excellent reliability and speed of the car well.

"Petter's and Phil's performance was one of the coolest and calculated I can remember.

"We've brought the car on now and have got more things planned for the second half of the season. We feel very well prepared."