DROITWICH’S 17-year-old driver Tom Delaney tackled only his third gravel race at Winner Garage Wyedean Rally in the Forest of Dean.

Delaney, with local co-driver Matt Walk, started well on the first stage in wet and foggy conditions, taking a fastest time in class.

But it all went wrong on stage two when the clutch hydraulics failed, making driving extremely difficult.

Delaney could not fix the car unless he could complete stage three and the 15-mile road section back to service.

Their mechanics did not have the correct parts to complete an effective repair but a temporary fix enabled the crew to get back out for the three afternoon stages.

However, on the road section after service to stage four, the clutch failed again, leaving the Spa teenager to battle on as he was leading his class and wanted to finish.

Delaney survived the last three stages, even taking fastest times with no clutch, and limped through the final road section back to the finish at Mitcheldean to win his class.

He said: “That was the hardest rally I have ever done. The conditions were terrible and we had to contend with no clutch as well, which made it extremely difficult.

“I never thought about quitting but it was hard to keep going at times. Then to get to the finish and find we had won our class was a great feeling.

“We couldn’t have done it without the help we have from SVP Motorsport and Peter Gwynne Motorsport.”

The team’s next event is in the Grizedale Forest in the Lake District on Saturday when they will look to build on their last success.

Delaney will be joined by his former co-driver Joe Cruttenden, who has good local knowledge of the area.