ROUND two of the MSA British Rallycross Championship saw competitors head for Lydden Hill, in Kent, over the Easter weekend and there were mixed fortunes for the significant number of drivers from the region who made the long trip south to the circuit just outside Dover.

Confidence was high as local drivers led all the major championships following round one at Croft, but that wasn’t the case after a bruising encounter last weekend.

Things didn’t get off to the best of starts for Northallerton’s Paige Bellerby in her Fuchs Titan Race-backed Lotus Exige as contact with another competitor ruined her chances in heat one before she emerged unhurt after a huge shunt at full speed into the barriers in heat two.

Heat three saw the 20-year-old claim third place before charging from the back row of the grid in the MSA Supernational final to finish third and maintain her lead in the standings going into the next round at Pembrey next month.

Her younger sister Drew also came away with some battle scars as she continued her progression in the Suzuki Swift Championship. The 17-year-old from Romanby was up against 17 other similar cars and gave a good account of herself through the heats, with a best result of fourth to qualify the Sayers Road Tankers-backed car for the semi-finals.

Drew took the lead and, after a race-long battle with former junior champion Aiden Hills, she got the better of him to win and sit on the front row for the final. Another great start saw her in the leading pack, but she was suddenly hit from the rear, causing severe damage to the car. Undeterred, she battled on with a virtually undriveable car to claim a magnificent sixth place at the chequered flag.

The third member of the Bellerby Motorsport team in action was dad Dave, who was at the wheel of his Ford Fiesta for only the second time in the 18-strong Supercar class. Claiming a best result of third in the heats, the former multiple champion from Little Langton got a great start in the semi-final and was dicing for the lead when the car started to handle badly. He continued to challenge, but his race ended in dramatic fashion when he lost a wheel after a driveshaft broke, taking the brake calliper with it and leaving him without brakes as he fought to bring the car under control.

Brother-in-law Kevin Procter was hoping for a repeat of his Croft win in the Procter’s Luxury Coaches-backed Ford Fiesta, but it wasn’t to be for the Leeming Bar driver. A good run through the heats saw him win the last one before repeating the feat in the first of the Supercar semi-finals. But the MSA Supercar final ended in disaster on the very first lap as the turbo intercooler was damaged in a first corner melee and he was forced out.

Competitors in the MSA Junior Rallycross Championship ran in two events over the weekend, as they do not travel to the event in Belgium in July, and Kent’s Sam Jones took maximum points with a pair of victories to move into the championship lead.

Round one winner Tom Constantine, from Richmond, collected a brace of second place finishes to maintain his challenge following victory at Croft. Cameron Hawkes, from Stockton, continued his learning in the category and scored a fourth and fifth place finish respectively.

Ripon’s Keifer Hudson was victorious in the BMW Mini Rallycross Championship final after rival, and brother, Kris retired early in the race. Defending champion David Bell, from Ferryhill, finished second, ahead of Teessider Martin Hawkes. Frankie Helliwell, from Boroughbridge, finished fourth, winning her class as a result, while Stockton teenager Jennie Hawkes ended up fifth to gain more experience in the class.

Andrew Hawkes rounded off a good weekend for the Hawkes Fire Racing team with seventh place in the Suzuki Swift Championship final, while in the MSA Supernational class, East Harlsey’s Guy Corner took a heat victory, only to retire his Peugeot 206 in the final.

In the Retro Rallycross Championship, Durham’s Lance Foster finished second in his Green and White Spares-backed Mini, with Stewart Bowes claiming fifth in his Stokesley Diner-backed similar car. His son Jordan, from Middlesbrough, back in action after rolling his VW Golf at Croft a month earlier, overcame gearbox problems to record a seventh place finish in the final.

It was a wasted trip for the Barnard Castle contingent as neither "Mad" Mark Watson nor Brian Jukes made it past the heats. Watson, who had burned the midnight oil in readying his Citroen Xsara for the meeting having missed Croft, endured a host of problems with his transporter en route, including a tyre blow-out and wind ripping off a side panel. He was then shunted on the line in the opening heat, which curtailed his weekend due to serious damage. Jukes never even made it to the start as problems with his Audi TT saw him sidelined without turning a wheel.

UP against Berwick Bandits in the opening leg of the Tweed/Tees Trophy, Redcar SG Petch Bears started the new speedway season with a victory, although they had to come from behind to do so.

Welcoming back Dane Lasse Bjerre and Australian Hugh Skidmore, who both missed most of last season due to serious injuries, the Bears fielded four new members in the 2016 line-up, including Frenchman David Bellego (ex-Sheffield Tigers), Dane Simon Nielsen (ex-Newcastle Diamonds), Lee Payne in his first season in the Premier League and Dane Jacob Bukhave, racing in his first season in England. The team was completed by the popular returning Dane Jonas B Andersen.

The Bears showed fighting spirit throughout the meeting to win 47-43. The return leg was due to take place last Saturday night in Berwick, but was postponed due to heavy rain all day.