RALLYMEN Ian Winstanley and Neil Bye had to settle for third place in the Peugeot 205 Challenge after losing out in a six-way fight for the title.

Third overall on the Dalby Stages wasn't enough for the popular pairing to snatch the championship from their season-long rivals.

"We had the pace to have won but not the consistency," admitted Neil.

"The rally was only 38 miles from start to finish. If you made a mistake, there was no way to claw back any lost time.

"We went off twice, and were lucky to get back on the the second time. But congratulations to Paul Tod on a good win, and the championship, and to Simon Moore for taking a fine second overall."

Winstanley, from Trawden, and his Burnley-based co-driver got off to a great start on the opening stage, setting joint fastest time despite a hairpin overshoot.

The pair were again on the pace on stage two until they arrived at a ninety-degree right hander.

"We just slid straight on in the mud . It was like driving on ice and we lost over 15 seconds reversing back up the escape road," explained Neil.

"Stage three was absolutely spot-on, uneventful but marvellous. And stage four was going well until we started to run wide on a medium fast left-hander.

"All I could think about was tree and how much it was going to hurt. But amazingly the verge slowed us down enough not to hit anything, and we managed to get enough traction to get back on track."

Although they reeled off the remaining two stages with competitive times, the damage had been done, and the duo finished the rally just 14 second behind the winners.

"Our strategy of go fastest then go off wasn't ideal, but we still enjoyed the event . Well done to everyone who won their awards and classes, it's been a cracking year."

Oswaldtwistle navigator Phil Peak teamed up with Worcester-based front-runner Simon Taft for the event as a 'shakedown' for the 2004 season.

The new partnership got off to a flying start, lying eighth overall until a puncture cost them seven minutes and 19 places.

"The idea was to get to know one another, with a view to contesting the 205 Challenge next year," explained Phil, who works as a civil engineer in Longridge.

"After the puncture, we decided to use the rest of the event as a test session, and we set top five times for the rest of the day."

Thanks to sponsorship from VivaVoce, a Midlands-based Integrated Voice Recording company, the pair will be out again on next month's Grizedale Stages in Cumbria.