AFTER 18 months away from the sport, Castleton driver Ryan Champion was back in action on the Omloop Van Vlaanderen Rally, which comprised a round of the Belgian championship.

The former British Championship contender was in his ex-Subaru World Rally Team Impreza and despite lack of match practice, Champion took tenth place overall and was first foreign driver in the Flandersbased event.

A lack of sponsorship has kept Champion out of regular competition during the past year but having contested the nearby Roselare rally in the past, Champion and Pocklington co-driver Craig Thorley were keen to take up an invitation from the event organisers to return.

The two-day rally started with some evening stages in front of some 10,000 spectators and Champion was quickly up to speed, lying in 12th place overnight.

Day two of the event included 12 competitive stages over 100 miles, again finishing in darkness.

Champion’s Impreza 555 drew lots of attention from the Belgian fans, as it is the sister car to the one which the late Colin McRae used in the 1996 World Rally Championship. After a relatively trouble-free day, Ryan moved up into tenth place overall and held the position to the finish, taking third place in class.

LEEMING BAR driver Kevin Procter came away from the final round of the 2010 FIA European Rallycross Championship with a 13th place overall finish, which means he finished 11th in the series standings following last weekend’s action at Sosnova, in the Czech Republic.

Driving the Procters Luxury Coaches-sponsored Ford Focus, Procter followed up the previous weekend’s 12th place in Poland with another solid drive, although for the second weekend in succession, the event wasn’t without problems for the Yorkshireman.

Qualifying in ninth place, Procter’s weekend got even better when he won the first two heats and was looking good but a problem in heat three after a clash with Ludvig Hunsbedt saw him slip into the ‘C’ final rather than the ‘B’ final he was hoping for.

Starting from the front row of the ‘C’ final, the Kick Energy and www.coach2.com-supported driver made a great start but a slipping clutch and problems with the centre differential saw his bid for progression thwarted as he trailed home in third place behind fellow British driver Pat Doran.

THE penultimate circuit car race action of the year takes place at Croft Circuit this weekend when Darlington and District Motor Club organises their club meeting which will see a number of titles decided.

A packed programme tomorrow and Sunday will incorporate no less than 20 races and more than 200 drivers entered.

With all grids incorporating championship double headers, there will be action involving sports and saloon cars as well as single-seaters.

There are 35 competitors in the Northern Sports and Saloon Car Championship for their final two races of the season, and 28 drivers in the Scottish Saloon and Sports Car Championship.

A CAPACITY entry will descend on Scarborough this weekend as a number of British Rally Championships will be decided in the classic Yorkshire Forests that comprise Trackrod Rally Yorkshire tomorrow.

Although the national title has been decided, the Dulux Trade British Rally Championship title is still up for grabs with Irishman Keith Cronin favourite in his TEGSport Subaru.

Plenty of local crews will be in action including Ripon pairing Charlie Payne and Craig Thorley who are chasing runner-up spot in the National series in their Ford Focus WRC.

They will be up against Hamsterley driver Stephen Petch and Northallerton’s John Richardson in their SGP Motorsport Hyundai Accent WRC.

Northallerton’s Charlie Taylor, Tim Pearcey, from Thirsk, and West Rounton driver Chris Blake will be in Historic action in their respective Ford Escorts, while Northallerton shopkeeper Darren Grimston and Brotton plumber Gavin Collyer will be tackling the Clubmans event in their Mitsubishi Lancers.

Scorton driver Steve Petch makes a rare outing along with Hartburn co-driver Ian Jackson in a Mitsubishi, as does Billingham’s Peter Stephenson in his Ford Focus WRC.

Others to watch out for are the Thirsk pairing of Terry Cree and Richard Shores (BMW), and Boroughbridge driver Miles Johnston (Mitsubishi) and Northallerton firefighter John Tillett (Ford Escort).

Spectators can catch the action in Dalby Forest (Woodyard and Housedale only) throughout the day from the Historics, arriving at 8.30am to the Internationals at 11.39am and 4.44pm, National competitors at 1.09pm, and Clubmen at 1.54pm.

With servicing in Marine Drive, Scarborough, more information can be found at www.rallybrc.co.uk