 In Sanremo, Rovanperä returned to the Bozian team, but on asphalt the Finnish driver struggled and finished ninth, whilst Gilles Panizzi took a stunning win after the injury just three weeks before.Rovanperä drove a near-faultless rally in New Zealand despite a hydraulic problem, finishing second, 3'50" behind Gronholm as he clinched his second world drivers championship.The championship continued in the southern hemisphere with Rally Australia, and Rovanperä finished in second place again behind his team mate Grönholm, but this time only 57" behind, and winning 8 stages of the rally.