Tom Cave second in BRC finale and third in British Rally Championship

Welsh rally driver Tom Cave finished second on the finale of the 2013 MSA British Rally Championship, Rallye Sunseeker, after an event-long battle with Osian Pryce who took his third rally win in a row. The result means Cave ends the 2013 season tied on points with Pryce, who takes second overall to Tom's third, thanks to his tally of wins, with Jukka Korhonen becoming 2013 champion.

The final round of the 2013 season began damp, with heavy overnight rain gradually easing as the crews began to arrive in the Creekmoor service area on the outskirts of Poole. By the time dawn had turned to day, the rain had stopped but crews were faced with the prospect of a wet and muddy start to the event.

Like many, Tom took the first loop of three stages easy, knowing that a minor mistake could escalate into a large problem in the slippery conditions. He ended the first loop in fifth place, with less than eight seconds separating the top five cars and less than two seconds covering second to fifth.

Like many, Tom was struggling to find grip and while he admitted the stage times felt slow, he was encouraged to see other drivers posting similar times in the muddy stages.

Following several minor set-up adjustments in the day's first service, he was immediately closer to his usual pace, posting second, fastest and second-fastest stage times over the next three tests. As a result, he climbed from fifth to second overall in the space of three stages, reaching the second and last service of the event in second place, with four more stages between him and the end of the 2013 season.

He took up where he left off, with second-fastest on the first of the four remaining stages, closely followed by a pair of stage wins, to close the gap to event leader Osian Pryce to 10.7 seconds with just the 4.37 mile Somerley House stage to run.

However, the day was to be Pryce's, going through the last stage just over three seconds faster than Tom and claiming his third win in a row.

By the time the scores had been worked out, Tom had taken third in the 2013 MSA British Rally Championship, tied on the same number of points as Pryce but conceding the position thanks to Pryce's series of wins.

Commenting at the event finish, Tom said; "I feel pretty happy. It's been a tough day today, with it being so slippy. We started off a bit cautiously, which was a bit frustrating as we lost some time but had a really good battle with Osian this afternoon. We didn't quite manage to get the win, though.

"We had a bit of a moment on the last stage, as we hit a Pheasant on a long straight and it went through the front grille. I thought it had gone into the radiator, so I ended up driving the rest of the stage with an eye on the temperature gauge but in the end, it hadn't caused any damage.

"We've had a good season, with four podiums which we have to be pleased with but didn't manage to get an event win. Jukka has driven really well all year and we have had some great battles, particularly on the Jim Clark, so hats off to those guys for winning the championship."

Tom's next event will be the finale of the FIA World Rally Championship, Wales Rally Great Britain, which takes place in November.