Saltash rally driver Alan Cookson and his co-driver, Julian Wilkinson, saw their 100 per cent finishing success rate this year disappear, as gearbox problems halted their bid for honours on last weekend's Manx Telecom Rally.

The crew were contesting the fourth round of the 2009 Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Championship in their Robert Wiseman Dairies, Kick Energy, GillettsSpar.com, Riverside Property Services, montpeliergroup.com and Olverelectrical.com-supported Subaru Impreza World Rally Car, and were hoping to consolidate their lead in Class 9 going into the two-day event after three strong finishes on the preceding rounds.

Despite changeable weather conditions, Cookson overcame the treacherous lanes to the south and east of the Island to hold a creditable 12th place overall overnight.

However, a puncture on the opening stage of the day saw the pair lose a minute and, going into the eighth stage, Cookson started to notice a gearbox problem which got gradually worse until he had no option but to retire on SS11.

'I was well chuffed with the way things went last night (Friday) but then it all started to go wrong,' he said.

'After suffering the puncture, I noticed a noise in the gearbox and, although we tried to continue, there was no point in wrecking it just for the sake of it so I parked it up.

'It's disappointing to miss out on the points and to lose the lead in the class, but we can still bounce back what with the dropped scores so everything's not lost yet. It's our first non-finish of the year – and I just need to find some Manx luck in future as this place hasn't been too kind to me recently!'

The next round of the series is the Severn Valley National Rally on May 30.