IT was a busy time for the region’s rally crews last weekend, with three separate events around the country, and it ended with major success for a number of competitors.

In Wales, despite the threat of the authorities withdrawing permission to use the Welsh forests due to costs, Hamsterley’s Stephen Petch finally got his BTRDA season up and running with a super drive to fourth place on the Plains Rally. Along with Crook co-driver Michael Wilkinson, the SGP Motorsport and WD-40-backed Ford Fiesta R5 driver saw his run of bad luck end to score a class win and vital championship points going into the second half of the season.

Following them home was the Ford Fiesta WRC of Ripon driver Charlie Payne, with Welsh co-driver Carl Williamson on the notes in the Simpson-sponsored car. The pair finished eight seconds adrift of Petch, taking fifth overall and second in class, and they still lead the championship at the halfway point.

Potto’s Andy Davison and co-driver Tom Murphy brought their Talbot Sunbeam home 47th overall and seventh in class.

Snetterton, in Norfolk, was the venue for the final round of the Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship with MSVR, and three local crews were in action on the Bolton Midnight Rally.

Hoping to win the 1400cc class were Bedale’s Joe Cunningham and Northallerton co-driver Marc Fowler in their Coach2.com-backed Vauxhall Corsa after a consistent run of results over the winter. The day started badly with gearbox issues and it looked like they were destined to retire, but they battled on with temporary repairs and eventually arrived at the final stage tied on time with their nearest rivals. Knowing the title was on the line, the pair put in a mammoth effort to emerge two seconds faster and secure the prestigious title, claiming 16th overall and second in class.

Stokesley’s Mark and John Burton also claimed second in class after bringing their Ford Fiesta XR2 home 26th overall, but the Northallerton pair of Graeme Bell and Russ Radford retired their Clarion Homes-sponsored Proton Satria Neo at the end of the third stage.

There was a good turnout at Melbourne Raceway, near York, for last Sunday’s John Overend Memorial Stages Rally, which saw the Northallerton duo of Kevin Franks and Craig Walley finish 10th and win their class in their Ford Escort Mk5.

South Kilvington’s Nick Kitching and co-driver Andrew Trollope claimed 18th overall and fourth in class in their Ford RS200, while two places further back were Darlington driver Kevin Hullah and co-driver Chris Harding in their VW Golf, who finished fifth in class.

Guisborough’s Dave Hornbrook endured a day of problems in the Mitsubishi Evo 4 he was sharing with co-driver Matthew Sample to end up 33rd overall and 14th in class.

All was going well for the Ford Escort Mk2 of West Rounton driver Nigel Keen, with Mickleton’s Tony Walker on the maps, until a misfire sidelined them on SS6. The following stage claimed Thirsk driver Shaun Wilson and co-driver Rachel Heel’s Subaru, as well as the Chonka Motor Services-backed Peugeot 205 of Leeming Bar’s David Johnstone, who had Pickhill’s Bruce Lindsay as co-driver. Sinderby’s Bill Bates, with daughter Kari, from Pickhill, on the notes, retired the Tanfield Engineering-sponsored Peugeot 106 late on with suspension failure.

THE Redcar SG Petch Bears speedway team were finally able to stage their Premier League match against Plymouth Devils and were rewarded with a narrow 47-43 win.

In heat one, a win for Devils rider Steve Worrall gave them a 5-1 lead. The heat two points were split with a win for the Devils’ Stefan Nielsen. By heat three, the Devils had stretched their lead to six points, but heat four saw the first win of the match for Bears’ David Bellego, with Lee Payne in third. This result was repeated in heat five with a win for Hugh Skidmore and Jonas B Andersen in third, reducing the Devils’ lead to just two points.

In heat six, Bears captain Lasse Bjerre came home in third, giving the Devils another 5-1 with a win for Sam Simota. Heat seven was another win for Bellego to split the points. Payne had a good win in heat eight and Bears scored a 5-1 in heat nine, with a win for Andersen and Skidmore in second, to level the scores at 27-27.

In the next five heats, the scores were split with two wins for Bellego and a win each for Payne, Skidmore and Andersen. Going into the final heat, with the scoreline at 42-42, the atmosphere was very tense. The result was a convincing 5-1 for the Bears, with another win for Bellego and Skidmore in second.

BEDALE kart racer Megan Stephenson was in action at the PFI circuit, near Grantham, recently in the second round of the NKF Championship. The 12-year-old showed good pace throughout testing and practice and was confident going into Sunday’s race.

With grid positions picked at random, the first race saw her start from 21st and a good start was followed by a race-long battle to end up 18th. Race two saw Megan start from 20th and claim a deserved 17th at the flag. From grid position 25, the final was always going to be tough and Megan struggled to get through the pack while defending her position.

She made a move near the end of the race, but contact with another competitor saw her lose some bodywork and cross the line in 26th place to round off a productive weekend.