For the third time this season, Dumfries rally ace David Bogie and co-driver Kevin Rae sprayed the champagne when they crossed the finish line of round five of the 2008 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge, the Swansea Bay Rally. The talented young Borders duo took the lead on stage four and had to battle right to the end as second-placed Richard Cathcart/Martin Brady fought back in the closing stages.

The event featured six-timed special stages in forests which are usually used by the Wales Rally GB. The three loops of two stages were separated by two service halts, providing the Evolution Challenge competitors with a competitive distance of 64 miles. With just one-point separating the top four drivers in the series standings, this event was acknowledged to be a potential turning point for championship positions.

At the first service halt the time sheets showed Keith Cronin leading from Bogie in second, Cathcart third, Nik Elsmore fourth and Daniel Barry in fifth, just ahead of Neil McCance who was aiming to lay the spectre of his previous Swansea Bay non-finishes to rest.

Barry went faster through SS3 than all other Evo runners by 1.1 seconds, but it all went wrong for the former championship leader in SS4 when he had to avoid an unseen pile of logs on the inside of a corner, the consequent evasive action caused his Lancer to slam into a pile of logs on the outside of the bend. Stage four was also the end of the line for Cronin who went wide exiting a hairpin, his Evo slipped into a ditch and, although there was no damage they were stuck fast and unable to extract the car from the mud.

At the second service halt, Bogie led by 7.4s ahead of Cathcart, whose car was handling strangely and was down on power due to a squashed intercooler pipe. But with his car restored to full mechanical health, Cathcart proceeded to claw back 4.1s on Bogie in SS5, which meant as they started the last stage, there was just 2.3s between them. After a flat-out charge on the sixth and final stage, Bogie posted a time 0.9s faster than Cathcart and, in doing so, clinched his third Evo Challenge victory of the season by a margin of 3.2s.

“With the championship so close, this was very important to have a good result on this event,” said Bogie. “I had to drive absolutely flat out on the last stage to make sure I stayed in the lead, so I’m delighted to take my third Evo Challenge victory of the season and to be leading the championship.” Bogie now tops the Evolution Challenge tables by one point from Cathcart with two rounds left to go, the sixth and penultimate event taking place on August 22-23, with a switch to asphalt stages and a trip to Northern Ireland for the Ulster International Rally.

Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge Round Five

Swansea Bay Rally; Results

1. David Bogie (Dumfries)/Kevin Rae (Hawick) 1:01:44.8;

2. Richard Cathcart (Enniskillen)/Martin Brady (Navan) 1:01:48.0;

3. Neil McCance (Comber)/Graham Hopewell (Worcester) 1:03:05.9;

4. Nik Elsmore (Coleford)/Craig Drew (Bream) 1:04:31.6;

5. Miles Johnston (York)/Ian Bevan (Holywell) 1:05:46.3.

Championship positions after round five

1. David Bogie 39;

2. Richard Cathcart 38;

3. Nik Elsmore 34;

4. Neil McCance 31.