South coast rally driver Steve Hendy produced a storming drive on the Isle of Man at the weekend finishing an impressive second in class and seventh overall.

Treacherous weather conditions and gearbox problems failed to dent Steve and co-driver Aled Davies in the Hankook-shod Ford Focus WRC as they contested the RBS International Manx Rally.

The two day event on the island saw crews faced with 15 high speed tests on the closed roads of the island with Hendy on a mission to succeed in the Hendy Group Focus WRC.

Action got underway with night time stages on the island and a mixture of torrential rain and fog as night fell – not the ideal time for the windscreen wipers to fail.

“We had to take things extremely steadily in the pouring rain and then when the fog came down conditions were even trickier,’’ said Steve. “We were just pleased to get back to the service area at the Grandstand for the overnight halt in one piece.’’

Saturday was a different matter in terms of weather conditions and Steve said that the Hankook tyres helped the pair climb from 21st overnight to finish an impressive seventh overall and second in class.

“The dry roads made a huge impact on our progress although we lost sixth gear which slowed us on some of the fastest sections but we managed to maintain a quick pace and were pleased to finish second in class,’’ said Steve who was also successful in Europe last weekend with a podium position in the Monteburg Rallysprint.

“We have a great package in terms of the Focus WRC and the Hankook tyres so are now looking at putting together a programme of events in Europe for the rest of the season.’’

He and co-driver Aled are due to be in action again in July contesting a round of the West Euro Cup in the Netherlands.