SEBASTIAN Ogier and Julien Ingressia driving the invincible VW Polo R WRC continued their impressive record in the Welsh forests by taking a fourth straight Wales Rally GB victory.

With the rally running two weeks earlier than in previous years and good weather on the run up to the event, there was a degree of optimism that the rally may have some autumn sun to welcome the international competitors to mid and north Wales. How wrong could you be?

Once the flag had dropped for the opening stages on Friday centred at Llangurig the rally was immediately shrouded in hill fog and drizzle - conditions some foreign crews welcome as part of the challenge and a welcome change from the dust they normally encounter on this type of event during their world championship campaign.

These conditions are the prime DNA of the RAC Rallies of old and a cherished part of the challenge of this great British motor sport event.

With over 178 km of stages, Friday was the longest day of the rally. In damp and foggy conditions all crews struggled with visibility with Myherin being particularly bad and variable levels of grip on the classic Welsh stages. Ogier was fastest and continued to open up an advantage on the following Sweet Lamb and Hafren stages.

When crews arrived at the midday re-group and tyre-fitting zone at Newtown, Ogier held a slim eight-second lead over Ford DMACK driver Ott Tanak.

The afternoon stages were a repeat of the mornings however popular Irish competitor Craig Breen crashed his Citreon WRC heavily on the re-run of Myherin, which spelt the end of his rally.

Much to the dismay of the home grown fans, rising Welsh star Elfyn Evans was a non- starter to the event due to the unavailability of a suitable car, so local support was geared toward Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss driving a hired Fiesta WRC2 car.

Pryce kept the partisan supporters happy as he tamed the fearsome forests to end the first day in 18th overall, sixth in WRC2 and top Welshman. Tony Jardine and Olympic gold medalist Amy Williams occupied 41st position.

Ogier continued to dominate on day two centred on the Dyfi forest complex near Machynlleth and by the end of the leg had extended his advantage to 37 seconds over Tanak and Thierry Neuville driving his Hyundai i20 WRC a further 1min 9sec behind in third.

After a strong performance on the opening two days a top result for Osian Pryce was thwarted by radiator leak half way through day three and young Welshman was forced to retire.

Ogier secured the win but the rally winner had to fend off a determined charge throughout the event from Ott Tänak, with the Estonian winning more stages than anybody else as he valiantly took the fight to the most successful driver of the current era and ultimately closed to within barely 10 seconds.

Underscoring Dayinsure Wales Rally GB’s international appeal, the final top eight finishers comprised eight different nationalities. Belgian ace Thierry Neuville prevailed in a Hyundai scrap for the final spot on the podium with New Zealand’s Hayden Paddon to secure the Korean manufacturer’s maiden rostrum finish in the UK, while Britain’s Kris Meeke placed fifth on the competitive swansong for Abu Dhabi World Rally Team’s Citroën DS3 WRC.

Spaniard Dani Sordo wound up sixth, with Finland’s Jari-Matti Latvala – a driver who has competed in Wales every year since 2002 – recovering to seventh after an opening day driveshaft failure. Norwegian Mads Østberg completed the top eight for M-Sport World Rally Team, with Frenchmen Stéphane Lefebvre and Eric Camilli rounding out the points-scorers in ninth and tenth.

The National rally was won by Bruce McCombie/ Michael Coutts driving their Mitsubishi Evo 9.