CHRIS Hand and co-driver Dai Roberts took overall honours at Teifi Valley Motor Club’s Rali Cilwendeg, sponsored by Forge Aberaeron, after an action-packed battle at the Newcastle Emlyn event.

They claimed a thrilling win in the black Ford Sierra - by just four seconds from second-placed Gethin Morgan and Max Freeman, who were always in contention for the top prize in the white Escort Mk2.

John Davies and Eurig Davies took third place overall in their Vauxhall Astra, 50 seconds off the lead, but only three seconds ahead of fourth-placed George Williams and Cadog Davies, in an Escort.

Martin Curzon and Alan James, also in an Escort, and Kevin Jones and Dafydd Evans, in a Toyota Corolla, completed the top six.

The 2018 winners and top seeds, Kevin Davies and Dale Bowen, had a frustrating evening, picking up a puncture in the second half of the rally, and finishing 17th.

With car two Daniel ‘Lwni’ Jones and Gerwyn Barry, and car three Andy Davies and Michael Gilbey, both having to retire early, Hand and Roberts took control in the early stages of the rally.

At the end of the first section, they held a nine second lead over Morgan and Freeman, and then extended their lead to 18 seconds on the second section, to the east of Capel Iwan.

By the third section, which ended after a run around Fynone Park, Morgan and Freeman had cut that deficit to 12 seconds, with Davies and Davies now 32 seconds off the leaders.

With the shorter fourth and fifth sections being successfully cleaned by most crews, the top three positions remained in tact at the petrol halt at Tan-y-groes.

After the halfway halt, however, Morgan and Freeman managed the tight and twisty lanes to take a five-second lead by SF6 at Nantypele, and the pressure told on the early leaders.Hand and Roberts then managed to spin and wedge their Sierra across a track on the seventh section, and the incident blocked the road for the 10 or so cars behind them.Fortunately for the eventual winners, however, the rally organisers decided it would be fairer to scrub penalties at SF7, and Hand and Roberts fully capitalised on the decision.

At the final time control of the night, preceded by a two mile run past Capel Gwnda, Hand and Roberts were fastest, nine seconds ahead of Morgan and Freeman - giving them a victory margin of four seconds.

Meanwhile Paul Morgan and Jamie Mills, in a Honda Civic, won Class Two (Experts), finishing in seventh place overall, three minutes ahead of their nearest class rivals.

Rhodri Evans and Nathan Summers were second in an Escort and Gwilym Davies and Steffan Davies completed the Class Two podium in a Peugeot 206.

The Class Three (Semi-Experts and Novices) was a tighter contest, with the Escort of Rhidian Daniels and Tomos Whittle, and the Peugeot 205 of Gethin James and John Allen being tied for the category lead at the end of the penultimate section.

Daniels and Whittle won the battle, after being 16 seconds faster to SF8. Ioan Lloyd and Dylan Evans were third in class in an Escort

A maximum entry of 90 cars had assembled at the Cattle Mart in Newcastle Emlyn for the 100 mile route.

Driving conditions were treacherous in places after 24 hours of heavy rain, with a large amount of water on the roads and a heavy fall of leaves making the going very slippery.

Special Awards: Highest Placed Mixed/All Female Crew: Daniel Owens and Jenny Evans, Nissan Micra. Highest Placed Under 1600cc Car: Dafydd Jones and Trystan Leyshon, Vauxhall Corsa. Highest Placed Local Crew: Llyr Williams and Ceri Davies, Ford Escort. Highest Placed Navigator Aged Under 21: Nathan Summers. Best Turned Out Car: Gareth Walters and Iwan Davies, Ford Escort.