STOKE Heath rally co-driver Andy Bull returned to a happy hunting ground in the Flanders area of Belgium recently.

His first visit to the rally in 1992 saw him narrowly miss out on a win in the popular Peugeot GTi Challenge with Birmingham driver Andrew Smith.

Ever since then the rally has always been kind to Andy -- but this year his luck ran out.

Andy had yet another new driver for this event, Phil Morgan from Buckinghamshire. Andy has usually been partnering drivers battling with Phil over the years and they have become good friends. Phil's usual co-driver wasn't able to make this rally round the battlefields and cemeteries of Ypres and Roeselare, so he asked Andy to step in.

Subaru's formidable Impreza 98 WRC was to be their mount. Confidence was high as Phil had enjoyed podium finishes on several rounds of the Belgium National Championship this year. The competition on the International Tour Of Flanders Rally would be tougher, but the boys were up for a good fight. Straight away they powered in to the top ten, although shocked at the pace of the leading crew.

As ever on the Tour Of Flanders, the weather was changeable, and the crew gambled with slick tyres as they thought the roads would be drying quite quickly with the wind from the English Channel. Andy said: "It's not like Formula One where they have up-to-date reports and team members 20 miles away checking the conditions. We just look at the sky and have a guess! However, we could see clearer weather approaching so risked losing time on the first stage, but we were confident we could make it up on the next two if the roads dried."

The tactic worked brilliantly and they rocketed up the leader board to sixth overall.

"We had a bit of a spin, just struggling to slow the car for a tight junction," Andy said. "We really wanted to get 200km/hr on the data logging down that straight, which we did, but then the braking area still had damp patches in it. There was an escape road so we knew we could afford to take a chance."

There was a fantastic treat in store for the crowded spectator stage round an industrial estate next to the canal. Cars start the stage every minute, do four laps and then turn off to the finish. When Andy and Phil left the start line they got out in front of a chain of the top three cars.

It was like a race track, with no one prepared to give an inch. They were all so close together that if the front car made a mistake, it was inevitable the following three would either have to hit it or take to the scenery.

Andy said: "The crowd were giving a standing ovation -- they thought it was brilliant. Although I have to say, if they thought it was good from out there, they should have seen it from my seat!"

Phil and Andy posted the third fastest time on that stage to take them up to fifth overall. It was hard to tell if their big grins were from the fun of the stage, or another climb up the leader board.

The penultimate loop of stages on the first day of the rally looked like being wet, and were difficult for the crew. The first stage of this leg was cancelled because there had been a serious accident earlier in the day.

"That always puts you off and it is hard to get back in to the groove," Andy confessed. "On the next stage we were lucky to get away but clipped a rock and punctured a tyre. We also broke one of the other wheels."

The crew were only carrying one spare wheel, to reduce the weight of the car, and had to swap the wheels around the car to ensure that they could continue. They did a fine job, just within the time limit, but had to put a damaged wheel on the rear which they knew could deflate at any time.

Andy said: "We dropped time with the puncture, and weren't able to push as hard as we wanted. We had to complete that last stage with a damaged wheel on the car. We had to be cautious every time we approached a right hand bend."

Luckily the chasing competitors also hit problems. Another puncture and broken wheel cost them further time in the final leg, but a repeat performance on the super special consolidated their overnight position in fifth on the leader board.

Fine weather greeted the crews for the start of the second and final day. It was a short day for Morgan and Bull when they entered the secure enclose to restart the rally.

"Very simply, the car wouldn't start," Andy explained. "We followed the procedure exactly, we had an extra battery on board to help, but she wouldn't fire up at all."

With only ten minutes allowed, and no external help permitted, all the mechanics could do was shout advice and instructions to the desperate crew.

It was all to no avail and they were gutted. Andy provided some amusement with a Basil Fawlty impression as he kicked the car a few times.

After a bit of time to reflect on the disappointment, Bull commented: "I suppose you have to put it in to perspective. Our problem is that the car won't start. It shouldn't be too difficult or expensive to fix. There were a lot of accidents yesterday which will cost tens of thousands of pounds to fix. So I guess we're lucky -- aren't we? This sort of thing happens in rallying, you get used to it."

As it turned out, two of the top four crews hit problems on the second day, which meant a top three finish would have been possible.

Bull's next outing is far from certain at the moment.

Andy concluded: "It's been a very difficult year with foot and mouth having a great impact on the sport. We may do another event in Belgium, but the main thing now is getting the plans laid for next year."