OSIAN Pryce finished runner-up for a third time on the Voyonic Grampian Forest Rally (9/10 August) to keep his 2024 Probite British Rally Championship title challenge on track – and it was only a spin on a very narrow section of road that prevented him from winning.

He and co-driver Rhodri Evans went into the overnight halt leading by four seconds after a strong opening two stages in their Dom Buckley RSC-prepared Ford Fiesta Rally2.

They maintained that lead at the start of day two, but the disadvantage of running first on the road and sweeping the worst of the loose gravel off the surface was to contribute to a spin on SS5.

Unfortunately, this happened on a narrow section of road and by the time Osian had got the car pointing in the right direction again he had lost almost 30 seconds and dropped from first to fourth.

Undeterred, the 31-year old Machynlleth-born driver flew over the remaining four stages, climbing back to second in two stages and regaining an astonishing 17 lost seconds to finish just nine seconds behind the winner.

The result maintains Osian’s BRC title challenge and the performance is a confidence boost heading into his local asphalt round, the JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion (30 August - 01 September) – which Osian won in 2023, finished second overall on in 2022 and scored maximum BRC points on both times.

“I was happy with the performance and speed on the Grampian Rally, although it wasn’t quite the ideal result in the end,” says Osian.

“Spinning was a bit of a silly mistake by me, albeit not helped by the loose surface and running first on the road.

“The rear wheels just got off line and we spun in a really narrow section of road which made turning around tricky. The time loss was a big penalty for such a small mistake, but that’s how it goes sometimes. 

“Overall I was happy with the way everything went. The car has come on really well set-up-wise from the last gravel rally and it suits my driving style a lot better now. 

“I’ve watched some on my on-boards since the event, and whilst I was driving pretty well I can also see some places where there was a bit more time to be had if I’d been a bit more clinical – and that fills me with a lot of confidence going forward. 

“The Grampian result gives us good points in the championship and maintains our challenge for the title. It was a good rally and we enjoyed ourselves – and now we can look forward to Rali Ceredigion.”