RIPON driver Charlie Payne got his 2016 Ravenol BTRDA Rally Series challenge off to a great start with second place on the recent Cambrian Rally after a day of high-speed action in the forests of North Wales.

But it couldn’t have been any closer as he missed out on victory by the narrowest of margins.

Along with Welsh co-driver Carl Williamson, the Amigos-backed Ford Fiesta driver made a great start by claiming fastest time on the opening stage.

Payne continued to lead for the next couple of stages, but dropped to second overall at the halfway stage by a marginal four seconds.

Spurred into action, the Yorkshireman hit the front again on SS5 to hold a seven-second lead, which he increased by a further second on the next stage and, with a 10-second advantage following the penultimate stage, victory was there for the taking with just the tarmac test around the Great Orme, in Llandudno, remaining.

Payne dropped exactly 10 seconds to nearest rival Luke Francis, meaning the pair were tied on exactly the same times at the finish. But, after the clocks were checked, it was determined that Payne was one second slower, meaning he was denied victory by a single second following nearly an hour of competition.

Nevertheless, Payne collected a decent points haul going into next weekend’s Malcolm Wilson Rally, which comprises the next round of the series.

The County Durham pairing of Stephen Petch, from Hamsterley, and Crook co-driver Michael Wilkinson were also hoping for a good start to the BTRDA series, having come so close to winning the series over the past few years, but it wasn’t to be for the WS-40-backed SGP Motorsport Ford Fiesta.

Ninth quickest on the opening stage, Petch dropped more time on SS2 to hold 14th place overall before the sixth-fastest time on the next stage hoisted him back into the top 10.

However, Petch lost more time on SS4 to effectively end his challenge, although a string of top 10 times in the second half of the rally, including third fastest on SS7, saw him climb to seventh overall at the finish.

Kepwick’s Peter Stephenson, along with co-driver Patrick Walsh, had a steady start before picking up the pace to end up 10th overall in the Able UK-backed Ford Focus WRC, while Thirsk’s Charlotte Wainwright was in the process of guiding Matt Thompson to a class win in their VW Polo when they retired with two stages remaining.

Joining them on the sidelines were Ripon’s Matt Robinson and co-driver Sam Collis, who retired their historic-specification Fiat 131 after going OTL at half-distance following a collision with a rock.

THE much-awaited debut of their newly-acquired Proton Satria Millington was looking promising for Northallerton duo Graeme Bell and Russ Radford, but their day ended in retirement on last weekend’s Jack Neal Memorial Rally, held at Blyton, in Lincolnshire.

The pair were well to the fore, but were caught out by a rogue rain shower and ended up sliding into a field from which they struggled to extract themselves, meaning they retired with just two stages remaining.

Also not seeing the finish was Pickhill co-driver Bruce Lindsay, who retired the Ford Focus he was sharing with Michael Farmer following head gasket failure.

THE Redcar SG Petch Bears speedway team has finally completed their team line-up for the forthcoming 2016 season.

Last week, they secured the signing of another Dane, Jacob Bukhave, who is making his debut in the English League. His arrival, along with Lasse Bjerre, Jonas B Andersen and Simon Nielsen, makes it four Danes in the team.

Returning after a long injury is the popular Australian Hugh Skidmore, while new signings are Frenchman David Bellego and the only English rider Lee Payne, who is making his debut in the Premier League.

The home season starts with a challenge match against Berwick Bandits on March 24.

THIS weekend’s Able UK/Robinson Riponian Rally will see a decent-sized field tackle the stages around the forests of Helmsley, with multiple winner Charlie Payne heading the field in his Ford Fiesta.

Cars will leave the start in Ripon Market Place at 8.30am on Sunday and there is only one designated spectator area at Duncombe Park, Helmsley, which sees cars in action at 9.30am and returning at 1.20pm.

Parking costs £10 per car and no access is permitted at any other stages. Police will be patrolling the A170, where roadside parking is strictly prohibited.