NEVER has the phrase stuck between a rock and a hard place' rung more true for Daniel Barritt.

The Hapton navigator couldn't have imagined a worse end to his domestic rally season after hitting a rock on stage one of three of the Wales Rally GB.

Barritt began the course lying in eighth in the 2006 British Rally Championship (Co-drivers) and third Mitsubishi Evo Challenge Series (Co-drivers) having already finished second PWRC (Co-drivers).

But the 26-year-old and Northern Ireland driver Philip Morrow ran into problems soon after setting off, losing time, and then their misery was compounded when their Mitsubishi Lancer suffered significant damage after hitting a rock.

That forced them into retirement, but the duo rejoined the rally using their SupeRally option on stage two.

They made up good time, but became victims of their own success as, in catching up the leading cars, their windscreen became covered in mud, making visibility increasingly difficult. Nevertheless, after ending the first leg in 29th place, they had moved up to 12th by the end of stage two.

However, they failed to match those achievements in the final leg and they were reastricted to 22nd in their class - 51st overall.