VAUXHALL'S new Astra rally car proved its total reliability, as it ran faultlessly in the hands of driver Jarmo Kytolehto, to finish fourth overall in the Scottish Rally.

The two-day, two-leg event, only the British car maker's third rally since its return, formed rounds five and six of the Mobil 1 RAC British Rally Championship.

Welshman Gwyndaf Evans (Seat) won round five, Englishman Martin Rowe (Renault) won round six, and Scotsman Alister McRae (Volkswagen) won the Scottish Rally overall by one second from Rowe.

Finn Kytolehto reported that the Astra's competition-tuned engine was hitting its rev-limiter too often while in sixth gear, restricting top speed. A change of the two-litre engine's electronic control unit before the first stage sharpened the car's performance, allowing it to pull more strongly in top gear and to consistently reach maximum revs

A change in the Scottish weather from glorious sunshine to grey skies and rain, made the day's special stages very slippery, but Kytolehto and co-driver Arto Kapanen managed an incident free run except for a slight scare on the first stage, where they landed heavily after a high-speed jump.

Testing in preparation for this 497 mile event (133 miles on timed special stages), the new Asta 'kit' car had shown a turn of speed which suggested it could keep right with the front-runners, despite its relative lack of development. In the end, it placed fourth on the first leg (round five), fifth on the second leg (round six) and fourth overall on the two legs combined (Scottish Rally).

Vauxhall's motorsport manager, Mike Nicholson said: "We appear to have gone slightly backwards when we thought we would go forwards, but maybe we came here with our sights set a little high. We were encouraged by our testing in Scotland, but perhaps that only proved that we were very quick over a particular stretch of road with a particular type of surface. Being on a real event is the best testing you can do.

"In truth, we have no reason to be disappointed with fourth overall on only our third rally. We've learned a lot more about the car in the last two days, and although we've still got a lot of work ahead of us, that's what this year is all about."

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