The only Welsh driver competing on Wales Rally GB, Tom Cave, finished the event in 14th place overall and second in the SWRC category. Driving for the PROTON Motorsports team, Tom and co-driver, fellow Welshman Craig Parry, drove a considered rally to bring their Proton Satria Neo S2000 to the finish of the three-day event in Cardiff Bay.
The third and final day of the event dawned wet and grey, with overnight rain making the stages, close to the Cardiff base, damp and potentially slippery.
Buoyed by inheriting second place in SWRC at the end of day two, when Yazeed al Rajhi was given a five minute penalty for a second speeding offence on a road section, he settled into the penultimate loop of stages well.
Following the mid-morning service, he and Craig headed back to a repeat of the three stages, which culminated with the Walters Arena Power Stage to close the event.
The tricky conditions from the morning had not abated, with the passing of the field already and with rain beginning to fall. However, Tom and Craig were keenly aware that their brief was to finish the event and with just three stages to go, a conservative approach would reap rewards.
By the time he and Craig reached the finish in Cardiff, they had climbed to 14th overall, as a result of Ott Tanak's retirement and consolidated their second place in SWRC.
Speaking at the finish, Tom said: "I'm so happy with this result; for Proton, for myself and Craig and for Wales. It's been a very tricky weekend but I am so glad that we were able to get to the finish and get a good result to justify the faith that PROTON Motorsport put in us.
"The conditions have been very difficult today. The first loop of stages was really slippery with lots of rocks in the road and it was raining on the second, so I knew it would be very easy to make a mistake. My brief for the weekend was to bring the car to the finish as the absolute priority and get as good a result as possible, so second in SWRC and 14th overall is fantastic.
"The Proton Satria Neo S2000 has not missed a beat all weekend and the team has worked very hard to allow us to take this result. This weekend feels just as good, if not better, than the win we took for Proton in Thailand in the summer.
"I'm delighted that we were able to deliver the result that was required and am very grateful to Proton and Chris Mellors [Team Principal] for the opportunity."
Commenting, PROTON Motorsports Team Principal Chris Mellors said; "Tom did exactly what was asked of him this weekend and second in SWRC is an excellent result in such a competitive arena."
Tom's next event will be the Rally of Yorkshire, the final round of the MSA British Rally Championship in two week's time, where he is one of the drivers in contention for the overall 2012 title.
