Osian Pryce edged closer to the Prestone British Rally Championship lead after completing a hat-trick of podium finishes at the RSAC Scottish Rally.
The Machynlleth driver’s second consecutive second place moves him to within four points of the lead of Britain’s premier rally series.
Pryce trails Sweden’s Fredrik Ahlin in the standings after his rival retired with a radiator problem after a battle with eventual winner David Bogie of Scotland.
While Pryce had his eyes firmly fixed on the big prize in Dumfries, he’s happy to head home after another consistent result over the 10-stage event.
“The bigger picture is looking pretty good after Scotland,” said Pryce.
“We start every rally wanting to win, that’s what we’re here for, but I’m pleased with what we’ve achieved both on this rally and from the first half of the season.
“Three consecutive podiums and second on the last two is just the sort of positive start to a new car and a new team that we wanted.”
Fifth after two runs through Friday night’s Mount Joe stage, Pryce and co-driver Dale Furniss were frustrated with a rocky start to the season’s third round.
“We got a left-rear puncture on the second stage,” he added.“We were only three miles in, so we had to drive on it for five miles. That stage was really rough.
“A few of the guys threw caution to the wind and got away with it, maybe we should have gambled a bit more. It wasn’t the best start, but the roads definitely improved on Saturday.”
The roads improved, but the rain which started on Friday evening continued for most of Saturday’s six stages around Dumfries.
Pryce added: “I think the rain helped the surface a little bit. Certainly the second day wasn’t as rough. We really enjoyed these stages, found a good rhythm and started climbing up the leaderboard.”
The Alphera/Hills Ford Fiesta R5’s climb looked like it might have peaked on the Windy Hill stage mid-way through Saturday.
He added: “Smoke started pouring out of the dash. Dale and I thought we had a proper fire starting in the car, so we were just getting ready to pull over when we turned off the heated windscreen and discovered it had been a short which turned into an electrical fire.
“The smoke stopped so we were able to crack on again. After that we had another puncture near the end of SS8, which cost us a bit more time. Apart from those problems, the car ran really nicely and everything worked well.”
”The event ended on a high with fastest time and another step climbed on the podium.
“Everything came together on this event,” said Pryce. “We’ve been right there all day, we missed fastest time by a couple of seconds when we got the puncture, but we got one on the last stage which was a really positive way to finish.
“Like I said, we wanted to win, but as somebody pointed out to me at the finish: we’re competing against guys who are in their second or third season with these R5 cars.
“This is our third event and only my fifth in a four-wheel drive car. To be the front-running M-Sport car is a great shot in the arm for us.”
Gravel takes a BRC back seat for the next round, when Britain’s best take a trip across the Channel to compete in Belgium’s world-renowned Ypres Rally.
Pryce said: “Ypres is one of the biggest and best rallies in Europe. It’s a really big deal to be going there with the BRC for the first time – and I can’t wait.
“We’ve really come to terms with this car on the loose and now it’s time to translate that into Tarmac rallying.”
Pryce and the Spencer Sport team will travel to Belgium ahead of the event in an effort to dial the Fiesta R5 into the specific requirements of the Ypres asphalt.