DROITWICH teenager Tom Delaney took another podium result this weekend on the Solway Coast Stages Rally, which was the sixth round of the 2015 Formula 1000 Junior series.

Delaney and co-driver Joe Cruttenden enjoyed a trouble-free run and an epic battle on their way to sixth overall and third English crew home on the remote event.

Taking place some 300 miles from Tom’s home town, the Solway Coast rally featured 10 stages over a single day.

Tom’s father Dominic competed in the senior event on the previous day in his FIA Historic-specification Peugeot 205 but was forced to retire when the engine developed a misfire.

However, he was more than a minute ahead of the nearest 205 by the mid point of the rally.

The field of junior competitors on Sunday was huge, since the rally was a round of the English, Irish and Scottish F1000 series and it brought out an entry of 30 cars.

For the first four of the 10 stages, Tom and series front-runner Matthew Davis set identical times, with the teenage Davies going slightly quicker on the fifth, to hold a slender advantage by the mid-point of the event.

This continued throughout the whole afternoon and the five remaining stages, with each of the pair taking a handful of seconds here and there.

By the time they reached the finish of the rally, Davis had eked out a tiny nine-second advantage, with Tom and Joe claiming sixth overall and third of the English F1000 Junior drivers.

However, more relevant was that fact that Tom and Joe encountered no problems throughout the rally and avoided the damage that affected many of the competitors in the very tricky conditions.

Speaking after the finish, Tom said; “I’m pleased to take third [English driver] this weekend after a really good fight with Matthew. I was really surprised when I saw we set identical times on the first four stages and after that, it was a couple of seconds here and there. The conditions were quite difficult - it was very slippery under the trees, for example but we kept our heads and had a really good run.”

Father Dominic said; “I’m really pleased with how Tom went this weekend. I did the rally in Saturday and realised it would be very tricky. Sunday was wet and it was Tom’s first time on pace notes so he did very well. It was a great scrap between him and Matthew and I think perhaps he would have preferred to be the second English driver but that’s what I would expect.

“I think for Tom and Joe to be sixth overall behind three local drivers is a really good result and it also shows he is clearly one of the front-running drivers now.”

The next round of the series is the Peter Lloyd Stages Rally at Pembrey in October.