They were fourth fastest on the final stage in the Škoda UK Motorsport Fabia S2000 to hold off the challenge of Portugal's Bruno Maghalaes.

It was an impressive performance on the legendary rally by Skoda with FOUR drivers finishing in the top six.

Mikko Hirvonen won the rally for Ford with Juho Hanninen (Skoda) second, Nicolas Vouilloz (Skoda) third, Stephane Sarrazin (Peugeot) fourth and Jan Kopecky (Skoda) fifth.   

Guy - who celebrates his 29th birthday today - was fifth going into the final four stages but was satisfied to cross the finish ramp in sixth, his best ever Monte finish.

Next stop Brazil, Argentina

Guy and Phil were given more good news when Skoda UK today confirmed it will contest rounds 2 and 3 of the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge, the Rally International de Curitiba in Brazil (4-6 March) and Rally Argentina (19-21 March).

The timing of the announcement coincides with Guy's birthday - proving that Škoda really does make happy drivers!

Guy said: "It's fantastic news that we are going to Brazil and Argentina, because contesting all three opening rallies improves our chances of success in the IRC.

"I've never been to Brazil, but I'm very excited about rallying somewhere new. We'll take it as we see it and it will also be perfect preparation for Argentina.

"Rally Argentina is a great event and I'm really looking forward to going back there. You always want to do well, and that's what we're planning to do in Brazil and Argentina."

Robert Hazelwood, Head of Škoda UK Motorsport: "After the encouraging start to the IRC on Rallye Monte Carlo, I'm delighted to announce that we are going to contest both rallies in Brazil and Argentina.

"It's an exciting development for the brand in the UK and we're looking forward to competing in the Southern Hemisphere."

You can also follow Guy's progress on Twitter at twitter.com/GuyWilks and Facebook at www.bit.ly/GuyWilks

Having celebrated his 29th birthday during the event, the Darlington-driver scored three points to make an encouraging start to his 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Co-driven by Phil Pugh, Guy drove intelligently and faultlessly throughout the four day, 251-stage mile event.

Consistency proved the key to success, as he set 13 top ten fastest stage times out of 15 and didn’t put a scratch on his Fabia S2000 – despite extremely challenging snow and ice covered mountain stages.

A stunning 2nd fastest time on the opening stage of Leg 3 (SS11) saw Guy move up two places to 5th.

With just four stages north of Monaco remaining, it was going to be an exciting finale as just 49.9 seconds separated Guy (in a points-scoring position) and the 9th placed driver (outside the points). 

Tyre choice would be critical, and whilst there was no snow on the twisty Alpes-Maritimes roads, freezing conditions meant sections of sheet ice, especially on the ascent to the Col de Turini, situated 1607 metres above Monaco.

Guy took winter tyres for the first loop of two stages, and whilst this was a good choice for the ice, he lost more time that he’d gained on the dry sections.

Returning to the harbour in Monte Carlo, Guy was back in 7th, albeit just 1.9 seconds behind Jan Kopecký.

For the final loop, Guy took a combination of cut slick and intermediate tyres and maintained a fast and safe pace to complete a copybook performance and finish 6th, moving up one place after Sébastien Ogier retired.

Guy said: “It’s been a fantastic rally – very difficult, but fantastic.  Škoda UK Motorsport is such a new team, and this is the first time I’ve rallied a Fabia S2000 on Tarmac.

"The car hasn’t missed a beat and if you consider that Rallye Monte Carlo is one of the most difficult events in the world, a points-scoring finish is a fantastic result.

"We’ve stuck to our plan of taking no risks and getting mileage in the car, and it has paid dividends.

“This is a very encouraging start to the IRC, and we’re looking forward to going to Brazil and Argentina for the next two gravel events.”

Škoda UK Motorsport’s next event will be Round 2 of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, the Rally International de Curitiba, in Brazil (4-6 March).

Final results (after SS15)
1. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (Ford Fiesta S2000) 4hr 32min 58.5secs 2. Juho Hänninen/Mikko Markkula (Škoda Fabia S2000) +1min 51.4secs 3. Nicolas Vouilloz/Benjamin Veillas (Škoda Fabia S2000) + 3min 19.1secs 4. Stéphane Sarrazin/Jacques-Julien Renucci (Peugeot 207 S2000) + 7mins 25.5secs 5. Jan Kopecký/Petr Stary (Škoda Fabia S2000) + 8mins 48.7secs 6. Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh (Škoda Fabia S2000) + 9mins 24.5secs

IRC Drivers points after Round 1
1 Mikko Hirvonen 10
2. Juho Hänninen 8
3. Nicolas Vouilloz 6
4. Stéphane Sarrazin
5. Jan Kopecky 4
6. Guy Wilks 3

IRC Manufacturers after Round 1
1 Škoda 14pts
2 M-Sport 10
3 Peugeot 9
4 Subaru 5
5 Mitsubishi 1

You can also keep up to date with Guy on Twitter at twitter.com/GuyWilks and Facebook.