Gronholm led all three days of the season-ending race

Gronholm led throughout and finishes the season just a point behind world champion Sebastien Loeb, who has missed the last three races with injury.

Gronholm beat Peugeot's Manfred Stohl by one minute 35.5 seconds with Subaru's Petter Solberg third.

It was the Finn's seventh victory of the 16-event season.

Loeb, who has already won the drivers' crown for a third successive year, was sidelined with a broken arm, leaving Gronholm as favourite for the race.

There was a lot of rain in places on both stages so I took no risks Marcus Gronholm

And the Ford Focus driver did not disappoint, finishing quickest in nine of the 17 specials over the weekend.

Gronholm also claimed wins in Monte-Carlo, Sweden, Greece, Finland, Turkey and New Zealand this season

His victory gave world champions Ford their first British rally win in 27 years.

The 38-year-old encountered minor difficulties in Sunday's two stages as conditions were affected by heavy overnight rain and strong winds.

606 DEBATE: Give your thoughts on Gronholm's victory

"On the second stage I entered a downhill hairpin a little too quickly and spun the car," said Gronholm.

"I had to reverse back on to the road and lost a few seconds but it was not such a big drama.

"I also had a problem with the windscreen, which would not demist and made it difficult to drive quickly, and the gearbox didn't feel right. I had difficulty selecting reverse.

"There was a lot of rain in places on both stages so I took no risks."

Leading British competitor was 19-year-old Matthew Wilson, who slipped back one position to 12th from his overnight placing.

The British rally consisted of 355km of competitive driving over a 1,206 km-long route, starting in the forests of South Wales and finishing in Cardiff.