The popular Lookout Stages Rally took place at Melbourne Raceway near York last weekend and saw four out of the six local crews who were competing there finish in the top ten.

The Trackrod Motor Club event offered double the normal stage mileage and with mixed weather conditions and challenging stages, it proved to be a test of both man and machinery.

Leading the way in seventh overall was Northallerton pair Kevin Franks and Craig Walley who were having a very rare outing in their Northallerton Tyre and Battery-backed Ford Escort Mk5. One place further back and on only his second appearance in his recently acquired Coach2.com Vauxhall Corsa was Bedale’s Joe Cunningham and co driver Marc Fowler who took a comfortable victory in the 1400cc class.

Brompton driver Darren Grimston and Hebburn co driver Richard Ross were using the event as test mileage in their Electrocare-backed Subaru Impreza and came away with an impressive ninth overall with Bedale’s Shaun Wilson and co driver Chris Longster claiming tenth overall in their Subaru a further 22 seconds down.

The Kirkbymoorside pair of Alan and Rachel Ward brought their Vauxhall Nova home in 17th overall and second in class whilst there was disappointment for Guisborough’s Dave Hornbrook and co driver Ann Forster who retired their Mitsubishi after two stages with an oil leak.

Pictures sent (courtesy of James Ward/Chicane Media) please accredit if used

Northallerton’s Robbie Wallace, 17, competed in rounds one and two of the British Enduro Championship last week at Lossiemouth in Scotland aboard his Motoconnection-sponsored Husqvarna 125.

The event was held in Lossiemouth Forest and included the adjacent sand dunes. The route consisted of 1.5 hour laps of the sandy forest with a special test along the sand dunes at the head of the beach whereby Robbie was competing in the 80 strong clubman section in the 125cc class.

The track was heavily rutted from the start and with the section times being very tight, it was evident that the event was going to one of attrition. Robbie managed to stay on time for his three laps on Saturday’s round one but struggled with the heavy going in the sand dunes test.

By the third lap he was feeling drained and came into the last time control after five hours of riding almost exhausted but claimed 23rd overall and fifth in class.

Round two on Sunday brought another sunny day with similar tests to day one. However, due to the previous day’s high attrition rate, the organisers shortened the race to two laps for the clubman section. With around 30 riders not starting, Robbie got away from the start at a strong pace as the section times had been tightened further. Robbie arrived at time control with just a minute to spare so pressed on to the next section at a faster pace.

A lapse in concentration, however, saw him fail to notice a tree stump in the undergrowth and cause him to crash at speed. Despite suffering a leg injury and with minor damage to the machine, he was soon on his way again but at a slightly reduce speed.

The sand dunes special test came next which he struggled through to get to the refuelling point for a short break and some attention to his leg. He battled on into lap two which saw him ride conservatively to get a finish and points on the board, eventually finishing sixth in class and 35th overall. The next rounds of the BEC are at Helmsley on May 2 and 3.

Less than a week after getting married, County Durham road racer Daley Mathison celebrated his honeymoon in style by taking a double victory at the Spring Cup Road Races held at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough last weekend.

The rider, originally from Murton but now living in Stockton, overcame TV personality Guy Martin as well as a top quality field to take victory in the second leg of the feature race in dismal conditions, also adding the Junior class to his list aboard his 600cc Suzuki. He backed that up with a pair of fifth places to cement his comeback after a nasty crash at the same track last year.

Chester-le-Street rider David Bell secured a pair of third places on his trusty Kawasaki in the Classic races whilst Rainton sidecar ace Tony Thirkell took a best placing of second over the weekend.

Redcar Bears were in action at last week’s League Cup meeting against Newcastle Diamonds which saw them defeated 40-50.

They were again without their injured captain Stuart Robson but the Bears got off to a great start in heat one with Lasse Bjerre and Jan Graversen scoring a convincing 5-1 in the fastest time of the night. The pair had another 5-1 later in the meeting but their respective scores of 14 and ten points weren’t enough.

Matej Kus had a couple of heat wins and a second place but had a fall in heat seven and was disqualified from the restart. His teammate Rafal Konopka also had a fall in the same heat and was disqualified too. By heat nine the Diamonds had extended their lead to ten points but by heat 12 the Bears pulled this back to six points. However, the Diamonds had 4-1 scores in the final two heats to win by ten points.