NIK Elsmore, from Christchurch, near Coleford, finished a hard fought fourth in the fiercely contested Group N Class in this year's Network Q Rally of Great Britain.
Starting and finishing in Cardiff, this year's rally comprised four days, 17 stages and 230 miles of competition, over a series of demanding gravel roads in the forests of South Wales.
Right from the word go Elsmore was on the pace of the Group N (for nearstandard specification cars) front-runners and took the second fastest time in the Class on the very first test – the SuperSpecial Stage in Cardiff's Docklands.
Once the rally went into the forests on Friday morning Elsmore, driving his Mitsubishi Evolution VII, was intent on grasping the category lead.
But a slide into a ditch when exiting a hairpin on the second stage of the day cost him nearly a minute, dropping him to fifth in Group N.
Elsmore, together with his co-driver Brian Hardie, then decided to go on a charge and as they started the first last day's four stages, they had climbed up to third. Unfortunately luck went against them once more and, following a rough section of road, the car's rear suspension became deranged and the subsequent delay forced them back to fourth.
"We were catching the leaders and if we had been able to get a good run on Sunday, I think we could have won the Class", said Elsmore at the finish.
"It was a great shame we had a few problems, but that's the nature of this event.
"I'm confident that we can be as fast, if not faster, than the other Group N runners and with our Mitsubishi being such a great car a win is never out of the question."