Young rally driver Tom Delaney overcame a series of difficulties to claim a demonstrative second place on last weekend's Glyn Memorial Rally at Anglesey circuit in Wales. The 16 year-old led the event before a rare error caused an impact and subsequent problems with the car cost him time and potentially, his first event win.

The penultimate round of this year's Formula 1000 Junior Championship, which saw Tom enter sixth in the standings, took place over two days with a series of night stages on the Saturday evening around the north Wales racetrack.

The entry for the event was enormous, with the rally forming part of the English, Welsh and Irish F1000 calendar. Tom and co-driver Joe Cruttenden set the initial pace in the English category on a wet and slippery surface, claiming an early lead despite having to take avoiding action when he encountered an earlier car spun in the stage, blocking the road.

His only option was to go the wrong way at a split junction to avoid hitting the stationary car before reclaiming the correct route, breaking the regulations in the process. However, once he had explained the situation, no penalty was awarded.

The conditions caught him out later though, as the stage was reversed and he landed on a patch of mud and gravel dragged out on to the road from a corner when the stage was run earlier. He slid into a gatepost and became wedged across the road between two posts, meaning some backwards and forwards to get out. Despite this, he dropped just seven seconds to the fastest driver over the stage, indicating his pace on the event.

Unfortunately, the impact caused significant damage to the front of the car but the SVP mechanics, which prepare and run the car, were able to effect repairs to allow him to continue. However, it also transpired that the Lambda sensor on the engine had been damaged in the impact and this kept causing the engine to go into limp mode, with a drastic loss of engine power and hence, speed.

Tom managed to maintain his speed as best he could but was not able to keep the lead in the category. In fact, he lost so much time on the final stage of the rally - 30 seconds - that he almost lost second place but a determined effort meant that the position was his.

As a result, he climbs from sixth to third in the overall standings, just six points behind second place. The final round of the series, in late November, will be his last opportunity to claim second in the 2015 championship, the winner already having claimed enough points to be uncatchable.

Commenting after the rally, Tom said; "That was a really tricky rally. The conditions were horrible, with loads of cars and drivers having problems. I thought I was going to be penalised for going the wrong way at a split junction then going back to the correct route but once I explained that it was an instinctive move to avoid T-boning another car, the organisers understood.

"It was also really annoying to hit the gatepost. We came over a small jump and landed on mud on the road and the wheels just locked up and I slid into the post. We got stuck across the road and it took a while to get out. Once we did, dad and the mechanics sorted the car but it was well down on power so we had to try to keep the speed up and get to the end without dropping too much time."

Tom's father Dominic, who runs independent Porsche and motorsport specialist company SVP, said; "Tom and Joe did really well this weekend. The impact into the gate post was just one of those things that catch drivers out. No fault of his own, it was unlucky that he got stuck. It was also really unlucky that the Lambda sensor was damaged and we didn't have a spare with us.

"The engine would be fine for a few hundred metres but then, would go into limp mode with a huge loss of power. I think that Tom and Joe did an amazing job to keep hold of second place, considering they had a 31s advantage over third going into the last stage and finished just one second ahead.

"The final round in two weeks will be a huge battle for second in the championship and I know Tom wants it really badly. If he gets it, it will be a superb achievement in only his second season of rallying - his first full season - and I'll be the first to congratulate him."

The final round of the 2015 Formula 1000 Junior Championship takes place at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire over the weekend of 21/22 November.