DARLINGTON precision driver Paul Swift continued his march towards the Motorsport News with MSVR Circuit Rally title by claiming a superb overall victory on last weekend’s 2017 MGJ Engineering Brands Hatch Winter Stages Rally.

Driving the PSI Global, Smart IFA and Smith and Allan-backed Ford Escort Mk2, Swift and Welsh co-driver Patrick Walsh were in action on round four of the series and emerged victorious by just eight seconds after a day of high-speed action and drama around the Kent race track near Maidstone.

With glorious winter sunshine greeting the capacity entry, the first casualty of the day was Stokesley driver Ian Woodhouse, who along with Hutton Rudby co-driver Paul Rowland, saw their championship aspirations dealt a blow when they broke the gearbox of their Ford Escort Mk2 on the start line of the very first stage leaving them to rue their misfortune on the long drive home.

Meanwhile Swift claimed second fastest time on the opening test before moving into the lead on SS2 courtesy of a stage win. SS3 saw a high-speed spin dropping ten seconds whereby the front of the car sustained damage following the crew trying to avoid a wayward car who had scattered stage furniture all over the track at the split, but still stopped the clocks second fastest to hang onto a seven second lead.

Another win on SS4 maintained Swift’s lead at half distance but only after urgent remedial action by the JBM team when a fuel pump failed as the car left service for the fifth stage, but which saw the multiple Guinness World Records holder and eight-times British Autotest champion increase his lead to 11 seconds.

Stage wins on SS6 an SS7 saw Swift’s advantage up to 13 seconds going into the final test as dusk started to descend. Knowing a safe run would net him his first outright rally victory, Swift eased the Millington-powered car round to second fastest, dropping five seconds in the process which clinched him his debut win.

Swift’s victory sees him clear at the head of the championship table by 29 points going into the next round at Snetterton in Norfolk next month but with only half the championship elapsed and dropped scores still to come into play, Paul knows he can’t rest on his laurels just yet, and likewise early series leader Woodhouse knows he’s still in with a great chance.

Another local crew didn’t have the best of luck at Brands Hatch when Stokesley’s Mark and John Burton retired their Ford Fiesta XR2 with suspension failure on SS5. The pair had been gradually climbing the leaderboard and had made their way up to 34th overall and fifth in the 1600cc class when they were forced out.

WORLD Rally Championship tour operator, Rally Travel Ltd, are supporting this year’s ABLE UK Riponian Rally with a fantastic offer to marshals on next month’s event with a unique and valuable prize draw.

The prize up for grabs is for one person to ‘Win an Escorted Tour to WRC Rally Spain’ which generously includes a return flight from the North of England to Barcelona, five nights’ half board accommodation in a four-star hotel in the Rally HQ town of Salou, transfers to the rally stages, the ceremonial start and other rally activities. Rally Spain-Catalunya takes place over the weekend of 6/8th October 2017 and full details of Rally Travel’s packages can be found at their website www.rallytravel.com.

The combined Ripon MSC and Whitby & DMC event takes place on Sunday 19th February in and around the forests of Helmsley and Pickering and already it has attracted a decent entry so far for the revised-format event whereby the organisers are appealing to accredited marshals for help on the event. To sign up and volunteer for the event and be eligible to enter the prize draw, please email marshals@riponian.co.uk.

Rally Travel’s David Hutchinson explains the reasoning behind this exciting opportunity to experience the WRC: “It’s easy to forget just how much we all, from the top WRC drivers through to spectators, depend on the time, experience and skill of the thousands of volunteers to keep our sport going. We hope our offer will help to both raise awareness of the important role the marshals and volunteers have in keeping us all safe out on the stages, and be an added incentive to sign up and help out on one of the highlights of the rallying year here in the North of England.”