OSIAN Pryce banished the demons which had plagued him since his massive Rally Poland crash last month with fourth place in the WRC2 class of Rally Finland.

Only now that he’s finished the fastest rally in the world can the 24-year-old talk about how much he wanted a clean run through the forests of central Finland.

“What happened in Poland was a disaster,” reflected Pryce, from Machynlleth.

“There’s no two ways about it – it was terrible. We won this incredible prize to drive a car built and run by M-Sport, the best team in the World Rally Championship and I crashed on the first real stage.

“I wanted so much to go to Poland and perform at the top of my game, but in the end I pushed too hard and paid a big price. I can’t tell you how grateful I was to Dick Cormack (DMACK managing director) and Malcolm Wilson (M-Sport managing director) - they were so supportive and told me to forget what had happened in Poland and to focus on Finland.”

M-Sport built Pryce and co-driver Dale Furniss a brand new Ford Fiesta R5 in just four days and the reigning Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy champion delivered their car back to them in fourth place in the WRC2 category, and top Fiesta runner.

They handed it back having averaged 72mph for almost 200 miles over terrifying 40-metre jumps and some of the wildest rollercoaster roads on planet earth.

“I’ve absolutely loved every minute of it,” said Pryce. “I put a whole load of pressure on my own shoulders in Poland, but I’m pleased with the way I coped with it.

“Had we come through Poland in one piece, maybe the result could have been better here and we could have pushed harder in some places, but at the end of the day I’ve taken so, so much experience.

“It was really slippery in places, there was a bit of damp around under the trees and it was very tricky, but for me it was all about bringing the car to the finish.

“It’s easy to look back and wonder what might have happened if we’d had a test and certainly it’s not ideal to come to Finland for the first time in a four-wheel drive car without a test, but that’s what we had and we had to get on with it.

“It’s been incredible and being part of the M-Sport and DMACK set-up has been an unbelievable eye-opener.”