GUY Wilks was sitting pretty in fourth place at the end of the second day of the Monte Carlo Rally, his debut for Peugeot.

The Darlington driver switched from Skoda to the French marque for this years Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) and was given the honour of being the first car on the road, in this, the Montes centenary event.

Wilks was looking to become the first British driver for 43 years to win the event - Vic Elford being the last in 1968.

Speaking before the start he said: "Monte-Carlo is always one of those special events that sends a tingle down your spine, even when watching from afar on TV or reading the results the newspapers, as it was when I was growing up, before the internet.

"It's what rallying is all about and it always has a magical atmosphere. Just to finish in the top ten is a great achievement. To be doing the rally with a French manufacturer for the first time is like a dream come true. It's going to be awesome and I'll do my absolute best to win it."

Wilks' ambitions were hindered slightly when on Special Stage Five the Peugeot 207 endured a big slide close to the start. Wilks, who said he felt the cars damper settings were too stiff, slipped to sixth as a result.

After Stage Six he was 1min 37.4 seconds adrift of then rally leader Juho Hanninen in the Skoda Fabia.

Heavy snow on the next stage caught a number of the leading drivers out, however, and Wilks was able to leap a place into fifth and cut the gap to the leader to a mere 25 seconds.

His fighting spirit was evident still further on Stage Eight when he battled his way through the snow to grab fourth, relegating Hanninen on his way.

At the end of the stage, Wilks was 1m 21.2secs down on fellow Peugeot driver Bryan Bouffier (2h 14m 38.1s). Francois Delacour (Peugeot) was in second place, 28.7 seconds down and Freddy Loix (Skoda) third, 1m 6.3secs behind.

Speaking after his error-free performance, Wilks said he thought snow tyres would prove the 'safer option' though he regretted not selecting studded rubber afterwards.

Following a final service halt in Valence on Friday morning, crews begin the 390-kilometre journey to Monaco via the last Drome stage, Montauban sur l’Ouveze-Eygalayes. Upon arrival in Monaco, cars enter parc ferme, while the drivers and co-drivers are able to rest before the four night stages in the Alpes Maritimes.

However, only the leading 60 competitors at the completion of the Montauban sur l’Ouveze stage will be permitted to tackle the nighttime tests, including two runs over Col de Turini, in keeping with one of the event’s long-standing traditions. The winner is likely to be known at approximately 12.30am on Saturday.