THE fast and uncompromising military ranges of Otterburn, in Northumberland, were the venue for last weekend’s Retro Motorsport Tyneside Stages Rally, which saw all but one of the region’s crews reach the finish.

Leading the way was Hamsterley driver Stephen Petch and Crook co-driver Michael Wilkinson, who brought their WS-40-sponsored Ford Fiesta R5+ home in a battling sixth place, taking fourth in class as a result.

Consett’s Barry Renwick and Newcastle co-driver Paul Hughes finished 12th overall and fourth in class in their Proton Millington, with their fellow County Durham crew of Pete Gibson and Chris Dodds taking 14th overall and fifth in class in their Mitsubishi Evo.

Sixteenth place overall went the way of Mickleton pair Alistair and Joe Hutchinson in their LPG-powered Renault Clio, but the pair missed out on a class victory by a single second after nearly two hours of competition on the tricky asphalt stages.

Thirkleby husband and wife Jon and Alison Trenholme were having a rare outing in their Subaru Impreza and came home 37th overall and 12th in class, while 40th overall went to the Mitsubishi Lancer of Bedale pair Tommi Graham and Bailey Place, who incurred a time penalty for being late at the opening control.

Marton’s Geoff Glover and co-driver Keith Barker ended up 42nd overall and eighth in class in their rear-wheel drive Vauxhall Astra Mk3, but Stanley pairing Kevin and Jimmy Knox retired their BMW M3 after SS8 with a holed radiator.

It was also a good day for local co-drivers, with Durham youngster Jack Morton guiding Thomas Preston to fourth place overall in their Skoda Fabia R5, just ahead of Northallerton’s Ian Windress, who was in the Proton Millington with David Tinn to claim fifth overall.

Meanwhile, the Phoenix Stages Rally was held in dry and dusty conditions at Fulbeck, in Lincolnshire.

Fifth place overall went to Guisborough driver Dave Hornbrook and co-driver Matthew Sample in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7, while Bedale giant-killer Joe Cunningham and Pickhill co-driver Chris Pattison were again to the fore in their Coach2.com-sponsored Vauxhall Corsa, taking the class win on their way to a superb 12th overall.

Wensleydale pair Andrew and Rachel Foster gave chase in the 1400cc class in their Vauxhall Nova, but had to settle for second place and 19th overall. In the 1600cc class, Ripon’s Tim and Morgan Gray brought their Ford Puma home 23rd overall and third in class.

It proved to be a traumatic day for Northallerton duo Kevin Franks and Craig Walley, who started the day well in their Northallerton Tyre and Battery-backed Ford Escort Mk5, but a high-speed excursion into the scenery, coupled with a puncture, hampered their bid and they ended up 31st overall and sixth in class.

COUNTY Durham road racer Chrissy Rouse believes there is still a lot more to come after salvaging an eighth place finish in last weekend’s Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship race at Brands Hatch.

The Newcastle University student from Burnopfield and his CECS/Mission Racing BMW team had made a few changes to the bike ahead of the race and, after qualifying in 11th position, the 20-year-old dropped a handful of places at the start and was lying 13th at the end of the opening lap.

But he battled his way up to eighth place and managed to hold the position all the way to the chequered flag to record his best result of the season so far.

In the same race, Newcastle rider Barry Teasdale just missed out on the points on his GreenChem/BHR BMW in 16th place, with Hutton Rudby’s Neil Bainbridge taking his KLM/Hare Bulk Haulage Kawasaki to 20th place in the 15-lap race.

In the Pirelli National Superstock 600 class, Saltburn’s Davey Todd was hoping for a return to form after a string of poor results and looked to be back to his best when he qualified in eighth place on the Morello Kawasaki. But a problem just before the race meant he couldn’t take his place on the third row and had to start from the back of the grid.

Despite the handicap, he battled his way up to 12th place at the chequered flag.

THE Redcar SG Petch Bears speedway team were at home last week in a Premier League match against Berwick Bandits and took victory on an evening when the weather played its part.

Bears were leading 41-25 after 11 heats and, with heavy rain falling and the track deteriorating, Hugh Skidmore won the next heat to split the points with the Diamonds’ Theo Pijper and Danny Gappmaier.

Diamonds’ Thomas Jorgensen won heat 13, but the weather was not improving and the rule book allows the away team to opt for a meeting to be abandoned after 10 heats. As the Diamonds were not able to win the match and the conditions were deteriorating, they played it tactically and the meeting was abandoned, although the Bears were awarded three points for the win.