Despite setting a blistering pace in the Exotic Green Rally held in Holland this weekend, Hendy was thwarted in his efforts after his Focus WRC failed to start day two of the event.

“We were lying comfortably inside the top 10 with a top five finish in sight when the car developed a problem and we just couldn’t get it started,’’ said Steve.

“It’s always frustrating not to finish a rally but we had no warning of any problem and it was impossible to fix in the time we had.’’

Despite the non-finish Steve and co-driver Aled Davies said they had been delighted with the performance of the Hankook-shod car in Holland.

“We had a long day of rallying on day one which really tested us, the car and the Hankook tyres and everything was working well,’’ said Steve. “We were in high spirits looking forward to another tough day of rallying in Holland so extremely disappointed not to complete the event but confident ahead of the rest of the season that we can be competitive.’’

The pair head to the Omloop Flanders Rally next and in October both the Haspengouw and Sombreffe are on the agenda.