Ross Whittock from Radstock was called up at the last moment to co-drive European Championship leader Chris Ingram in the Factory-supported Opel, finishing third in the Junior category in Rome.

The Rally Rome Capitale was a three-day event, starting on Friday in the centre of Rome, with a special stage put on for the thousands of city spectators.

Saturday and Sunday moved out of town into the mountains for a further eleven stages, along with 200km of the twisty mountain terrain in changeable weather conditions.

This result puts Chris into a two-point lead in the championship, with one event left in October – the Rally Liepaja in Latvia. To then finish off the season, Network Q have stepped in to support the team on the British round of the World Championship ‘Wales Rally GB’ again in October. Ross will remain this year’s co-driver for the 22-year-old upcoming star of the future.