DARLINGTON and District Motor Club organises more top-class rallycross in the region this weekend when Croft Circuit hosts the final round of the 2016 Autosport International BTRDA National Rallycross Championship on Sunday.

The event has attracted a huge entry of 84 cars, the biggest rallycross entry at the circuit this year. The championship is wide open, with any one of 10 drivers hoping to claim the prestigious overall BTRDA crown, and with double points on offer, it is an event not to be missed.

The star-studded entry also includes some top European drivers from Belgium and Holland.

The six categories, including the top spec 550bhp Supercars, the unique SuperModified cars, Production and Historic cars, will feature more than 45 races in one day.

The headlining 4x4 class will see 10 cars do battle, led by hotelier "Mad" Mark Watson, from Barnard Castle, in his Citroen Xsara. The entry also includes 2015 champion Gary Pusey and father and son Mike and Liam Manning (all Subaru Imprezas).

The two-wheel drive SuperModified class has attracted a huge entry of 30 cars and local drivers include Newcastle Citroen C2 drivers Mike Boak and Phil Chicken as well as Northallerton’s Guy Corner (Peugeot 206) and Brian Jukes, from Barnard Castle, in his diesel-powered Audi TT. But they will be hard pushed in a class which sees drivers from Belgium, Holland, Wales and Ireland all looking for the top spot. One driver hoping to take the honours is the returning 2014 BTRDA champion Kieran Curran (Ireland) driving his ultra-fast 1600cc Vauxhall Corsa.

Other classes in action over a busy day include Production, Historic, Autocross and Junior Rallycross.

A field of 16 Production cars will compete for championship points and they are headed by local driver Martin Peters, from Ingleby Barwick, in his Citroen Saxo. He’ll be up against 2015 champion John Ward (Ireland) and James Orton (Leeds), while other local interest centres on Ian Horn (Stokesley), Neil Maynard (Great Broughton), Nick Thornton (Thirsk) and Darren Grimston (Northallerton), who will all be looking for success in the Historic class. Laura Boak, from Jarrow, will be looking to put on a great display in only her second appearance in the Junior Rallycross class.

Gates open at 8.30am, with practice starting at 9am and heats from 10am, with the finals after the lunch break. Adult admission is £10, with accompanied children aged 15 and under admitted free. Extensive free car parking is available, as is access to the paddock. Refreshments and grandstand seating are available. For more information, visit croftcircuit.co.uk or call 01325 721815.

EXELBY kart racer Megan Stephenson was in action recently in the final round of the NKF Championship at the Three Sisters track, near Wigan, and just missed out on a top 10 placing in the series.

With backing from ST Racing and the Taste of India, Bedale, the 12-year-old was testing on Friday and showed good pace as she reacquainted herself with the track after not driving there for a year. Further progress was made on Saturday when she ended up lapping inside the top five all day, meaning she was confident going into the races.

Megan started in tenth for the first race on Sunday and made a good start, but she had to take avoiding action onto the grass when another driver spun in front of her at the first corner. Re-joining last out of the 28 karts, she fought back to finish 18th.

In the second race, she started from sixth on the grid. In the early stages, she made her way up to fifth and enjoyed a race-long battle before finishing seventh.

With a grid position of 22nd for the third race, she had her work cut out to battle through the field, but did so to end up 12th at the finish.

The final race of the day and the final race of the championship was Megan’s last chance to score good points in her aim for a top 10 position. Starting 11th on the grid, she was soon up to fifth, but a slight mistake saw her collide with another competitor and spin out. She re-joined in 18th place, but missed the opportunity of her best result of the year.

Her disappointment was compounded by missing out on 10th in the championship by a single point, but with lessons learned and more experience gained, Megan is looking forward to making plans for an exciting 2017 season.

NORTH Yorkshire's Mike "Spike" Edwards raced to a couple of third places in the Middle East recently in the opening round of the Bahrain Superbike Championship.

It was the Harrogate racer’s debut at the track on a Ducati 899 and it proved hard work in 34C heat.

With practice, qualifying and two races on the same day, the former British Supersport champion was happy to climb the podium on both occasions, but will be looking for an improvement when he returns at the beginning of December.

Edwards said: "I just need a bit more sponsorship support to help with flights and accommodation to get me back for the other rounds, as it's not really somewhere I can drive to and sleep in my van!"

For further information, visit mike-edwards.net.