LAST weekend was a busy one with various events taking place around the country and a number of the region’s competitors came away with some good results.

Leading the way with a rare rally outing was Leeming driver Kevin Procter who was in action at Oulton Park for the Neil Howard Stages Rally and came away with a second place.

Co-driven by Witton Gilbert’s Derrick Fawcett in the Coach2.com-sponsored Subaru Impreza, they climbed to within two seconds of the lead after SS4 but despite their best efforts, they had to give second best to former national champion Steve Simpson and after ten stages around the popular Cheshire race track by 15 seconds.

Also in action at Oulton Park was Thirsk co-driver Charlotte Banner who guided Matt Thompson to 62nd overall and 24th in class despite taking a maximum on SS3 due to problems with their VW Polo.

Across on the Isle of Man, Scotch Corner’s Tony Bardy and Saltburn co-driver Neil Colman were in action on the Pokerstars Rally which comprised the final round of the Manx Championship. After two days of competition around the twisty tarmac lanes, the Nissan Sunny GTi-R crew emerged in third overall. It wasn’t such good news for the Richmond pairing of Geoff Wright and Christine Sanderson who retired their Nissan Almera just three stages form home after a promising run.

The final round of the REIS MSA Asphalt Championship took place with the Keith Knox Cheviot Rally which saw a number of crews to the fore on the Otterburn Ranges. Durham duo Pete Gibson and Chris Dodds took 17th overall and seventh in class in their Mitsubishi, three places ahead of Consett’s Barry Renwick and Steve Dargan who took a class win in their VW Polo S1600.

Staindrop driver Mark Thompson and co-driver Phil Kenny from Ryton finished 23rd overall and second in class in their Peugeot 206 whilst Stanley pairing Kevin and Jimmy Knox brought their Ford Sapphire home in 24th overall and fifth in class. County Durham co-drivers Jack Morton and Giles Dykes sadly didn’t see the finish with their respective drivers.

AROUND 70 cars have been assembled for the Darlington and District Motor Club-organised penultimate round of the 2014 Autosport International BTRDA Rallycross Championship which takes place at Croft Circuit on Sunday.

Leading the way are the flame spitting, turbo charged, four-wheel-drive, 550bhp Supercars including Barnard Castle hotelier Mark Watson who returns to the sport with new title sponsors Mend-A-Hose Hydraulics Ltd backing his Citroen Xsara. He’ll be joined by Andy Grant (Ford Focus), the Subarus of Gary Pusey and Simon Horton as well as local ace Kevin Procter, who has been invited by the event organisers to give him a chance to test his World Rallycross-specification Ford Fiesta T16.

The Super Modified class sees the largest grid of the season assembled at Croft and features no less than 30 cars with everything from the 120bhp 1500cc Toyota Paseo driven by Rob Scott right up to the supercharged Peugeot 206 of Northallerton’s Guy Corner and Devon driver Allan Tapscott in his rear-wheel drive Vauxhall Corsa which put out in excess of 400bhp.

The grid is packed with numerous other local drivers all looking to make an impression at Croft but making the longest journey is Irishman Kieran Curran who will bring his rapid Vauxhall Corsa to Croft for the first time in an attempt to stamp his authority on the overall BTRDA Championship lead.

The competitive Production class sees 20 cars on the entry list and one driver who will be looking for success is current BTRDA Championship leader Chris Harper. From nearby Aycliffe, Chris is sure to face some stiff competition in a class which has produced four different winners in the first four rounds this year. Some local drivers who will be looking for the top spots on the podium include Martin Peters from Ingleby Barwick, Chop Gate’s John Gaskin and Maunby driver Colin Ramsey.

There are classes for modern and classic Minis as well as a seven car entry for Autocross competitors meaning an action packed day of around 50 races.

Adult admission to Croft Circuit, just off the A168 five miles south of Darlington, costs £10 for adults with accompanied children under 15 free. Parking is free also and action commences at 9.30am. For further information please visit www.croftcircuit.co.uk as well as www.clubmansrallycross.weebly.com.

NORTHALLERTON Automobile’s Christmas Stages Rally, which takes place at Croft Circuit on Saturday 27th December, has reached capacity within five days of regulations being issued.

This year sponsored by Swift Signs, already entered is a host of top drivers from the region as well as nationally meaning the 80 available places have now been filled. However, the organisers have reserved ten entries as usual which they will allocate at their discretion prior to issuing the final 90-car entry list in a month’s time.

The event usually attracts a bumper crowd to the North Yorkshire race track and further details can be found at www.northallerton-ac.co.uk