FRESH from clinching the 2016 Ravenol BTRDA Rally Series crown at the previous round, Ripon’s Charlie Payne contested the final round of the series last weekend and came away with a superb victory when the Trackrod Rally took place in the Yorkshire forests.

With Welsh co-driver Carl Williamson also needing points to secure the title, Payne was in no mood for compromise and took the Simpson Safety Products-backed Ford Fiesta to a third win of the season ahead of another local crew, Stephen Petch and Michael Wilkinson.

Petch, from Hamsterley, and Crook co-driver Wilkinson were battling with Williamson to accrue enough points for Wilkinson to win the BTRDA co-drivers' title.

This relied on Payne finishing three places or more below the County Durham crew, but with Payne and Williamson winning the rally and Petch doing the best he could with a misfiring engine caused by an electrical fault on the WD-40-backed Ford Fiesta R5+, second place was the best they could manage to also finish second in the series.

Former Mitsubishi Cup winner Ryan Champion, from Castleton, was making a return to the fast Yorkshire forests around Pickering and he and co-driver Allan Harryman completed the podium with a brilliant drive into third place overall in the Mitsubishi WRC.

Another crew making an impressive return to the local stages was Leeming Bar driver Kevin Procter and Newcastle co-driver Andrew Roughead, who brought their Procters Luxury Coaches Ford Fiesta home in fourth place overall.

Tenth overall went the way of Teesside businessman Peter Stephenson and Northallerton co-driver Ian Windress in their Able UK-backed Ford Focus WRC, while Scorton’s Steve Petch and Exelby co-driver John Richardson had a good start to the rally and were inside the top 10 after the first couple of stages. But the pair lost time in Dalby with a couple of half spins and a stalled engine, which dropped the SGP Motorsport Ford Fiesta back to 12th overall at the finish.

Lealholm driver Nick Cook missed out on a class win by just three seconds on his way to 19th overall in the Lealholm Auto Services Ford Escort Mk1 he was sharing with Whitby co-driver Dave Raw, while Potto’s Andy Davison and co-driver Tom Murphy brought their RES Teesdale Scaffold-backed Talbot Sunbeam home in 30th overall and fifth in class.

Ben Cree, from Thirlby, and Houghton-le-Spring co-driver Andy Brown claimed second in class in their TCM Homemade and Vintage-supported Peugeot 205 on their way to 45th overall, with the Ford Ka of Hambleton farmers Amanda Cornforth-Smith and Derek Cornforth claiming a battling fourth in class and 51st overall.

Graham Haigh, from Boroughbridge, co-driven as usual by Pickhill’s Kari Bates, ended up 57th overall and eighth in class in his Ford Escort Mk2, while SGP Motorsport driver Mike Williams, from Heighington, and Bishop Auckland co-driver Steve Perry finished 58th overall and 13th in class in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9.

Pickhill’s Bruce Lindsay guided Harrogate driver John Hepworth to 64th overall and 11th in class in their Ford Escort Mk2, while the only local crew not to see the finish of the modern event was Bedale’s Simon Cole and Barnard Castle co-driver Steve Waggett, who retired their BMW 325 with a damaged sump after SS3.

Meanwhile, in the Trackrod Historic and Land Rover Rally, which started last Friday evening, Boroughbridge driver Tom Hewick and Pickhill co-driver Mick Johnson emerged as best of the locals with eighth overall and fourth in class in their Ford Escort.

A class win and 20th overall went the way of Thirlby’s Terry Cree and Boltby co-driver Richard Shores in their BMW 2002.

The Avenger of Potto driver Keith Davison and Ripon co-driver Henry Richardson claimed 28th overall and fourth in class, while the best of the Land Rovers saw Hartlepool’s Mark Robertson guide Ben Ronde to 35th overall and second in class. Middlesbrough driver Shaun Law and co-driver Tom Thompson finished 38th overall and third in class in their Land Rover, but the event ended in disappointment for three other crews.

Ripon’s Matthew Robinson was going well in second place overall when the Fiat 131S he was sharing with co-driver Sam Collis broke a propshaft and was retired in SS3, while the Land Rover of Chris McCarthy, from Stokesley, and co-driver Tyrone Westall was retired on the penultimate stage.

South Kilvington publican Nick Kitching and Thirsk co-driver Andrew Trollope’s rally ended on the opening stage when they had problems with their Ford RS2000.

A STORMING drive to the podium in the final race of the season gave Ciceley Motorsport’s Max Coates third overall in the 2016 Renault UK Clio Cup Championship.

The Scorton driver was again in fine form at the Brands Hatch GP circuit in Kent, where qualifying was held in wet conditions after rain started just minutes before the start of the session. As a result, Coates qualified the Primex Plastics Ltd and PLASgran Recycling car in tenth and eighth position respectively for the weekend’s two races.

The track was drying as the cars took to the grid for race one, which was red-flagged on the first lap following a multi-car crash. The delay allowed all the cars to change to slicks, but part of the circuit was still damp in places, making it a difficult race for all involved.

Coates came out of a terrific battle to finish in sixth position, but championship rival Paul Rivett won the race. The result meant Coates had to beat Rivett in the final round of the season to stand any chance of securing third in the championship.

The recently-crowned Clio Cup Graduate champion was making good progress through the field when Rivett clashed with another driver, allowing Coates through to third place. After a safety car period, the racing resumed and Coates made his move for second place through the fast GP section of the circuit. He then pulled out a gap and tried to close in on the race leader, but had to settle for second place in the final race of the season.

Rivett finished last in the race, which handed Coates third place in the championship by one point.

With the season over, Coates' focus now turns to a British Touring Car Championship test in the Ciceley Motorsport-prepared Wix Racing Mercedes A-Class this week. The off-season will be a busy one for him as he aims to renew his sponsorship deals to make a return to racing again next year.

THE SG Petch Redcar Bears rode their last speedway match of the season last week, but suffered a defeat away to a strong Workington Comets side.

The Bears were without captain David Bellego, who is undergoing treatment for a shoulder injury, and also missing was Hugh Skidmore. Tobias Busch and Jonas B Andersen were just back from injury and not quite race fit, meaning the Bears were nowhere near full strength.

Tomas Jorgensen, who recently won the Teesside Silver Helmet, was a guest replacement for Bellego and was the Bears' joint top scorer with Lasse Bjerre on 11.

However, the Comets finished the season with three riders in double figures to score a convincing 56-34 win.