CARMARTHEN was the place to be ahead of five days of epic rallying in some of Britain’s best known forests .

The 2003 Roger Albert Clark Rally featured 350 miles of gravel roads in Wales, England and Scotland timed to the second with over 150 cars starting the event in Carmarthen.

Nearly 2,000 spectators gathered to watch the cars leave the ceremonial start. The town hadn’t seen anything like it before, the atmosphere electric as the vehicles left Guildhall Square and made their way down Lammas Street with crowds five deep.

The crew of car 46 finished a fantastic fourth overall with Dyfrig James, of Cilrhedyn near Newcastle Emlyn and co-driver Emyr Jones, Bancyffordd, Llandysul, former Teifi Valley Motor Club Cilwendeg Rally winners, enjoying a fantastic five days.

The Welsh leg of the RAC Rally started on Thursday in the forests of west Wales local to the pair. Home advantage saw the crew immediately on the pace and with each stage they moved up the leaderboard.

Friday saw stages in Mid Wales including the much awaited Myherin stage. Jones emerged from the stage with a huge smile saying “we really had a good stage in there” at the Sweet Lamb service area where a starter motor was changed in the car as a precaution just before heading into two further stages in the Sweet Lamb / Hafren forest complex.

Everyone made their way to Carlisle late at on the Friday night with the crew sitting in 10th overall.

Saturday featured stages in the West of Scotland, some not used for many years near Newton Stewart and Dumfries.

The Mk2 Escort was behaving well with not even a mark on the car. The stages were completely new to the pair but they still managed to move up the leader board and lied seventh overall overnight.

The event still posed a huge challenge for the small Tegfan team from Cilrhedyn made up of good friends put together by James.

When they arrived in a mid point service on the Sunday evening, following a quick gearbox check a decision was made that it had to be changed as a precautionary measure.

It was all hands on deck with James himself on his back under the car working on the spanners.

Time was of an essence and running out quickly in the service park above Kielder in Europe’s biggest man made forest.

Co-driver Jones was fuelling the car as the service crew frantically worked getting the new gearbox fitted.

As the car came off the jacks James/Jones fired the engine and the quick gearbox change proved successful and they quickly made their way down the gravel road into the time control with seconds to spare.

The team had done a sterling job getting the crew back out on the road for the two remaining night stages where they finished sixth overall in the Mk2 Escort.

Monday’s racing provided even more challenges, a long hard day in the Kielder forest with deep ditches that cars don’t emerge from if things go wrong.

Four stages in the morning then the aptly named ‘The Big One’, the epic final 39-mile stage, the longest in any UK forest for over 30 years.

James and Jones had 30 seconds in hand on the car behind them and after racing over 300 forest stage miles the pressure was on. Did they push for a potential fourth overall or just get the car over the finish line.

The service crew watched the live timing nervously along with their sponsors as the A James and Sons / E Jones Engineering / Castell Howell Foods / Forest Arms Brechfa / Security Services / Caws Cenarth backed car crossed the finish line of that final stage for a fantastic fourth place finish.

It had been a tough event on the car, driver and co-driver as well as the service crew.

A small team with a big heart for rallying celebrated a top result competing against some top drivers from the World Rally Championship scene.

Other crews who finished the event included Wyn Slim Jones and Martin Davies in the Hilman Avenger. After changing a trio of gearboxes the New Cross driver made it to the finish line in Carlisle.

The car had been off the road for some 30 years and had a total rebuild for the RAC and managed 60th overall and 4th in class from nearly 160 crews who started the event.

Geraint and Eurig Davies finished 15th overall and 9th in class.

Sadly Aberangell’s Osian Pryce was forced to retire with engine issues after leading the event early on in his Escort Mk2 with co-driver Rhodri Evans after a great battle with WRC competitor Oliver Solberg.

Also on the retirement list on the last stage of the event was Ieuan Pantsod Evans / Dafydd Evans in a Escort Mk2 after being inside the top 10 at one point.