Tony Jardine praises Amy Williams as pair finish Wales Rally GB

Tony Jardine and Amy Williams: Finished 26th in Wales Rally GB

The Sky Sports Formula One pundit and the former Olympic skeleton gold medallist suffered their toughest day of the event with a problem at service leading to a time penalty, followed by intercom and turbo issues and finally a puncture at the end of the second run of Kinmel Park.

Over Sunday's six stages they dropped by two positions but still won their class and achieved Jardine's best-ever Rally GB finish.

Frenchman Sebastien Ogier capped his title-winning World Rally Championship season with overall victory, holding off the challenge of Volkswagen team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala with Thierry Neuville completing the top three.

But after exceeding expectations, Williams said: "It was a tough day to finish on. I loved it, it was really enjoyable but I feel like everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong.

"We had technical issues before we even left this morning so we were late into the first time control which was pretty upsetting. Our intercom went wrong, the anti-lag didn't work, we had red lights flashing, a puncture and we got stuck behind a police car for ages. But I just laughed it off, I managed to keep really calm throughout all of it and we kept pushing.

"I'm gobsmacked at how well we've done. I'm still in shock now plus absolutely exhausted.

"Now we're going to have some champagne with the team, the whole team have done so well, it's not just Tony and me, it's everyone.

"The car has been fantastic, it's been amazing. I have loved every minute of this experience. It's been tough, probably one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I've really enjoyed it.

"I would love to have the opportunity to do this again, I feel genuinely sad that this could be the last time I'm in a rally car. I've caught the rallying bug, I can see why these guys do what they do.

"That need for speed, the thrill, and always being on the edge really appeals to me. I need an opportunity to come my way, I'd love to co-drive again and I would love to have a go at driving too!"

Jardine added: "Today was the hardest day of the whole rally. We were late coming out of service this morning and I nearly switched the car into safe mode during the first stage as we had several warning lights come on, the car was on half power and I was worried about putting stress on the engine.

"I turned the anti-lag off and after a few kilometres I got some power back so by the end of the stage it was working alright but without the anti-lag, then finally on the second stage it kicked back in.

"We suffered event timing issues during the day, stage direction issues and I made a few errors on stage. Then at the end of Kinmel we got a puncture.

"We changed it in about three and a half minutes and drove like crazy to get to the Great Orme which was a really good stage, a Welsh classic.

"I am absolutely fatigued, I've hardly slept all event because I've been wired, it's such a big event with so much pressure.

"Amy has been fantastic, we've gelled really well. Her note calling, in fact everything she's done has been brilliant.

"During all the stress of today, Amy was the one being totally positive, a true sporting star. I am privileged to have driven with her and today I achieved my best ever Rally GB result. We were first in our class and 26th overall. I am stoked."