NORTHALLERTON rally driver Graeme Bell continued his good start to the 2015 season when he and co-driver Russ Radford took a fine sixth place overall on last Sunday’s TJS Self Drive Alan Healy Memorial Cadwell Park Stages Rally.

Driving the Ford Escort Mk2 RS 2500 owned by Radford, Bell overcame the wet conditions at the Lincolnshire race track to claim a string of top ten times and in doing do, won Class D by well over a minute.

The Saltburn pairing of Ian and Nick Colman were also in action in their Nissan Sunny GTi-R and took 13th overall on their way to ninth in class whilst Mickleton’s Alistair Hutchinson and co-driver Steve Walmsley brought their Renault Clio home in 18th overall and third in class.

Northallerton road rally ace Steve Retchless was having a rare outing on the stages but finished 19th overall and fourth in class in his Ford Escort Mk 2 which he was sharing with Richard Hage with the Peugeot 206 of Staindrop’s Mark Thompson and Barnard Castle co-driver Andrew Hutchinson ending up 25th overall and sixth in class.

Rounding out a good weekend was the little Toyota Yaris of Staindrop driver Colin Butler with fellow County Durham resident Joe Hutchinson on the maps where they claimed 39th overall and third in class.

Elsewhere, the JC Motor Services SMC Stages Rally took place at Weeton Camp in Lancashire and saw Thirkleby pair Jon and Alison trenholme claim a super third place overall in their Subaru Impreza. However, destined not to see the finish were three other local crews as the Pickhill pair of Geoff Simpson and Bruce Lindsay joined fellow Mitsubishi Evo crew of Guisborough’s Dave Hornbrook and co-driver Ann Forster on the sidelines along with Hutton Rudby duo Ian Woodhouse and Jason Leaf (Ford Escort).

THE SBD Motorsport British Sprint Championship heads for Croft Circuit on Easter Monday for round two of the national series.

A plethora of high powered single seat Formula cars will attempt to be the fastest over a single lap of the technical but fast North Yorkshire circuit. Heading the entry are the father and daughter combination of Colin and Heather Calder who were the 2014 champion and runner up, in the Gould GR55 3.5. They won’t have it easy however as all of last year’s top ten are present.

A full supporting cast from eight other championships also join in the action with plenty of Porsches, many Morgans, a thunderous TVR and a wealth of Westfields making up a cracking entry.

Practice runs start at 9.15 before culminating in the Top Twelve Run Off for the British Championship at approximately 3pm.

Further details are available at the DDMC web site www.darlington-motor-club.org.uk under GB Sprint.

REDCAR BEARS slumped to a disappointing 36-56 defeat in the opening home meeting of the 2015 season against the Workington Comets in the A66 Challenge last Thursday. On a bitterly cold evening at the Media Prima Arena, Workington started well and the Bears never looked like getting back on terms. To make things worse for Redcar, captain Stuart Robson fell in his second heat and was hit by team-mate Rafal Konopka who had nowhere to go. Robson was subsequently withdrawn from the meeting and was lucky to get away with concussion. Top-scoring home riders were Lasse Bjerre on 14 and Matez Kus scored nine.

The return leg at Workington which was scheduled for last Saturday evening was cancelled, due to a waterlogged track meaning the meeting will be re-scheduled to a later date and hopefully Stuart Robson will be fit for that encounter. Tonight sees The Bears at home to Sheffield in the League Cup following last night’s opening leg. The action at the Media Prima Arena gets underway at 7.30pm.

FOLLOWING the death of a close friend aged just 48 to cancer on March 12, a prominent North Yorkshire lady is organising a fundraising event in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Paula Procter, whose husband Kevin is managing director of the Procter’s Luxury Coach group of companies, as well as a leading rallycross driver, is planning a ‘Girls Night In’ on Saturday May 9 at her home in Scruton, and is hoping to raise as much as possible in memory of Sue Rhoney who died after a brave fight against breast cancer.

Such has been the interest already, around 60 ladies have pledged their support, including some who have been affected by or who have lost loved ones to cancer.

Paula commented: “When Sue died, it spurred me into wanting to do something as she was such a nice and positive person. I’ve decided to call it a Friends and Fizz Fundraiser and the aim is to have some fun while raising money for a worthwhile cause. My daughter Matilda is running a ‘pink stall’ to represent breast cancer also and we are hoping for a raffle and tombola so all gifts and prizes are welcome. Morgan and Mikey have been so brave throughout the loss of their mum and I know Sue would be so proud of them.”

Paula lost her grandmother to cancer as well as Kevin’s dad and grandmother so it is hoped that it can become an annual event.

Paula concluded: “I was just going to do the Race for Life as I have done for the past few years but this is a different way to raise money I thought. Plus Kevin is away racing his car that weekend so us girls will have the house all to ourselves so I’m sure it will be fun.”

For further information or to donate a raffle or tombola prize, please contact Paula via email paulaprocter@hotmail.co.uk. A Just Giving page in memory of Suzanne has been set up and can be found at www.justgiving.com/Paula-Procter where donations would be gratefully received.