NORTHALLERTON co-driver Ian Windress was celebrating last Saturday when he guided Ollie Mellors to the narrowest of victories as the Proton Satria Neo duo won the 2015 Grizedale Stages Rally by a single second.

After a day-long battle in the classic Lake District forests, the cool but dry conditions saw no-one dominate.

Mellors and Windress had a scare on the penultimate stage after they slid into a ditch. They recovered from the setback, while rivals Dave Wright and Steve Pugh (Ford Focus WRC) and County Durham pair Stephen Petch and Michael Wilkinson (Ford Fiesta R5+) also suffered some misfortune during the event.

Going into the final stage, any one of those three crews could have won it, but Mellors and Windress emerged as winners, a second ahead of Wright and Pugh, with Hamsterley’s Petch and Crook co-driver Wilkinson 12 seconds adrift in third and no doubt ruing the 15 seconds dropped when they stalled on SS4.

Teesside businessman Peter Stephenson and Whickham co-driver Paul Hughes had a good run to bring the Ford Focus WRC home sixth overall and the usual giant-killing act took place in the 1400cc class when Thirsk’s Mat Smith and Barnard Castle co-driver Giles Dykes brought their Proton Satria home 12th overall for the class win.

Scorton’s Steve Petch and Exelby co-driver John Richardson were in action in the SGP Motorsport Ford Fiesta S2000 and, despite an off into a ditch on SS1 and a throttle problem which the crew had to overcome themselves between stages, they finished 14th overall as Petch continued to get used to the first non-turbo car he has driven in his career of 20-odd years.

Darlington’s Mike Williams and Bishop Auckland co-driver Steve Perry claimed 33rd overall in their Mitsubishi Lancer, while Moulton driver Simon Cole and Stockton co-driver Steve Waggett brought their venerable BMW home 45th overall and sixth in class. Two places adrift was the Avenger of Potto’s Keith Davison and Ripon co-driver Henry Richardson, while Pickhill co-driver Bruce Lindsay guided Yorkshireman Graham Haigh’s Ford Escort to 49th overall and 10th in class.

The Hambleton daughter and father combination of Amanda Cornforth Smith and Derek Cornforth retired their Ford Ka on the opening stage before rejoining the Trophy Rally later in the day, while Bishop Auckland’s David Coatsworth and Pickhill co-driver Chris Pattison retired their MG ZR with two stages to go.

GREAT Broughton brothers Ian and Stephen Woodhouse were in action at the Hall Trophy Stages Rally at Blyton last Saturday and came away with a superb victory.

Despite their lowly seeding of 32 out of the 64 crews entered, the Ford Escort Mk2 pairing were up to fifth at the end of the third stage before winning the next three stages as the track dried to hold third overall at the midpoint service. Fastest times on the next four stages saw them take the lead and they eventually claimed their second outright victory of the year by 23 seconds after the ten stages.

Other locals in action included Romanby’s Steve Retchless, who claimed 18th overall in the Ford Escort he was sharing with Sasha Heriot, while Guisborough driver Dave Hornbrook and co-driver Matthew Sample took 23rd overall in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7.

DARLINGTON and District Motor Club has again teamed up with fuel conversion specialists Autogas 2000 and specialist motorsport PR company Cartersport for the Jack Frost Stages Rally, which will take place at Croft Circuit on Sunday, January 17.

The event will again comprise up to eight stages totalling about 40 stage miles on the asphalt of the North-East’s only permanent race track. As well as a number of regional championships, the event will include the fourth round of the Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship in association with MSVR.

With typically fast and flowing stages, the event usually attracts a capacity 90-car entry and, as a qualifying round of the country’s premier single venue series, it is expected to fill up quickly and include many of the country’s leading drivers in powerful machinery.

Competitors are reminded about a couple of processes regarding the entry list, which is slightly different to that of Northallerton Automobile Club, which organises the Swift Signs Christmas Stages Rally at Croft on Sunday, December 27 (and which filled up within 12 hours of entries opening).

The maximum entry is 90 cars and all entries are allocated on a first come, first served basis. No places are reserved for allocation at the organisers' discretion, so all potential entrants are urged to submit entries as soon as possible. There are no reserved entries for registered championship contenders, so the onus is on the competitor to enter in good time.

For further information, contact Terry Wright on 01325 359895 (before 9pm) or via email at tp.wright@btinternet.com. Regulations are available at darlington-motor-club.org.uk.