AT the time he was supposed to be putting his car through scrutineering in Blackpool last Friday afternoon, Scotch Corner’s Tony Bardy was still more than 120 miles away, finishing a 36-hour engineering marathon in his Yorkshire workshop in order to make the start line of the Legend Fires North West Stages Rally.

With the required parts for his Ford Focus WRC only arriving the day before, Bardy and his team worked relentlessly day and night before heading over the A66, only just making it as the event got underway and starting last of the 100 crews contesting the event.

Despite running at the back of the field for the opening four stages in darkness, Bardy had a good run through the opening two Lytham Hall stages before hitting the front following the two Promenade stages to lead the rally overnight. The organisers then re-seeded the field, meaning Bardy was running in his rightful position at the front on Saturday.

The double winner, with Saltburn’s Ian Colman in the co-driver’s seat, held onto the lead following the two stages on Fleetwood Waterfront, but dropped to second place for the remainder of the loop as the battle up front raged. But any hopes Bardy had of adding to his 2009 and 2012 victories went when he lost time on SS15 with a puncture, which dropped him to fourth place overall.

But Bardy battled on to claw back the time, eventually snatching third place on the last stage in Weeton Camp to claim the final podium spot and end a memorable weekend as the champagne flowed at the Norbreck Castle Hotel finish.

The man Bardy denied for third place was Bishop Auckland’s Tristan Pye, who, along with co-driver Andrew Falconer, ended up fourth, just eight seconds adrift. As high as second at one point, the John Pye Motorsport Subaru Impreza pair were impressive throughout, especially as it was Pye’s debut on the event. He took the consolation of the Class E victory, winning it by more than five minutes ahead of Gateshead pair Andy Fenwick and Andrew Roughead in their Proton, who took sixth place overall.

But without doubt the drive of the rally came from Richmond’s Mark Constantine who, with his brother Andrew co-driving in their 1600cc Vauxhall Corsa, took an amazing seventh overall and class victory. They had crashed out of the event at high speed last year, sustaining serious injuries which meant a considerable spell out of the sport, so emotions were running high when they crossed the finish ramp. Constantine even led the rally outright after the opening two stages in the torrential rain on Friday night before consolidating one of the best results of his career.

Thirkleby’s Jon Trenholme and co-driver Garry Green performed well to bring their Subaru home 13th overall for their best result in Blackpool, while Mickleton driver Alistair Hutchinson and Barnard Castle co-driver St John Dykes overcame clutch problems on their LPG-powered Renault Clio to claim a class win and 18th place overall.

Darlington’s Kev Tennick and Hartburn co-driver Ian Jackson brought their Peugeot 306 home 35th overall and fifth in class, while wild celebrations were the order of the day for Leeming Bar driver Dave Johnstone and co-driver Simon Little, who achieved a long-awaited finish in their 1600cc Peugeot 205, taking 37th overall and eighth in class.

Sinderby’s Bill Bates and co-driver daughter Kari, from Pickhill, brought their Tanfield Engineering-backed Peugeot 106 home 39th overall and 10th in class, while Consett driver Barry Renwick and co-driver Jane Nicol finished 49th out of the 50 finishers following a problem at the start of the first stage in their Proton which meant they could only rejoin the main rally on Saturday under Super Rally rules.

Pickhill was well-represented in the co-driving department, with Chris Pattison guiding John Marshall to 21st overall and fifth in class in their MG ZR, while Bruce Lindsay crossed the finishing line in Michael Judson’s Vauxhall Astra in 40th place overall and sixth in class. Wensleydale duo Andrew and Rachel Foster endured a weekend of frustration in their Foster’s Coaches-backed Vauxhall Nova to end up 44th overall, dropping about 20 places because of time penalties.

Almost half the field retired, including Stanley co-driver Jack Morton in the Ford Focus WRC he was sharing with Tom Preston. Thirsk’s Mat Smith and co-driver Chris Row held an amazing sixth place overall following SS1 in their 1400cc Proton Satria, only to suffer sheared wheel studs on the next stage. The F&D Cornforth team soon had it fettled, but the clutch failed on SS9 and Smith, making his debut on the event, was out. Northallerton’s Larry Carter and Mickleton co-driver Tony Walker were inside the top 30, but retired when a crank sensor failed on their Peugeot 206 following SS17.

HOT on the heels of a successful night with Steve Parrish last month, the North Yorkshire Road Racing Supporters Club hosts another chat show at the Golden Lion Hotel, Northallerton, on Tuesday.

The guest is JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider Peter Hickman, whose career has really taken off in the past couple of seasons. He was the fastest-ever newcomer at the TT and took wins at the Ulster Grand Prix and Macau Grand Prix as well as a couple of BSB wins.

Joining him on stage will be his father Dave, who was an accomplished road racer himself and went on to be a highly-regarded engineer and crew chief for many top teams, notably playing a major role in the JPS Norton rotary project.

Doors open at 7.30pm for an 8pm start. Entry is £10 (£5 members). To save on the entry fee and support the club’s aim of helping local racers, single club membership costs £20 (joint £30, concessions £15 single, £20 joint). Entry is at the door only, no advance tickets. For more details, go to nyrrsc.net or check the club’s Facebook or Twitter pages.