Mike Winfield and Andy McGowan claimed their second win of the season last weekend with a hard fought victory in the Total Motorsport Solutions 1400 Challenge on the Swansea Bay Rally in South Wales.

The pair now jointly hold the championship lead with Northern Ireland's Martin Laverty with two rounds still to go, and they lead the EuroRallye cup outright for front wheel drive cars.

The classic South Wales stages around the Vale of Neath are usually a big enough challenge themselves, but the conditions had been made even worse tracks due to the recent spell of warm weather that had left the forest tracks incredibly slippery and dusty.

The rally started badly for the Peugeot 206 1400 crew, who started Stage 1 at a good pace only to be caught behind a slower car for 3 miles. The resulting time loss due to reduced visibility because of the dust clouds and a rear puncture for 3 miles on Stage 3, mean't they went into the day's first service halt with a 39 second deficit to Laverty.

"We pushed very hard in Stage one and two, but it was all a bit of a waste of time!" said Winfield at the finish. "The dust was a big problem for all the crews, and it was literally like driving into a wall. At one point Andy called a 350m straight, but I could not see a thing and was hard on the brakes and travelling along at walking pace, it was utterly crazy! It was due to moments like that which meant we lost the time we did, but that's the way it goes in rallying some days."

Stage 3 saw Winfield and McGowan claw 8 seconds back to Laverty through the 6 miles of Rheola, and things were looking up as the rally made its way across South Wales. With Stage 4 at Walters Arena being cancelled due to an accident the crew headed to Resolven for the final stage of the day.

Winfield was first through, stopping the clock at a 19mins 49.3 secs, with Laverty completing the 16 mile stage over 30 seconds slower. This meant that Winfield and McGowan had snatched the 206 1400 victory by a mere 1.6 seconds.

"We did not think it was entirely possible to catch Martin," noted Winfield at the finish in Swansea. "I drove the final stage at 10/10ths, and I really gave it a good go in there. We had two dodgy moments that we were lucky to get away with, and on another day we won't, but today it was our day! It just goes to prove that you should never give up and keep trying!

"I am really chuffed as that is two wins in two rallies now which puts us in a very strong position for the rest of the year and ultimately the championship. Once again the team have worked very hard and the car was excellent, so a big thank you to all of them. I am looking forward to the next rally now - the Park Systems Rally, and the rest of the year!"