HEIGHINGTON rally driver Guy Wilks saw his bid for a record-breaking third Pirelli International Rally victory literally go up in smoke when a fire destroyed his car when he was comfortably leading last weekend’s Carlisle-based event.

The defending double British rally champion and Welsh codriver Phil Pugh had struck a last-minute deal to use one of the new Evolution Super 2000 cars, with the MEM-run Proton Satria Neo sporting sponsorship from The Sun newspaper.

They were immediately on the pace, leading at Friday’s overnight halt by 18 seconds despite breaking the rear screen on a heavy landing.

Despite a jamming throttle, Wilks was on course with a halfminute lead at the halfway stage on Saturday, when, traversing SS8, what started off as an innocuous trail of smoke became a raging inferno.

Despite the best efforts of the following crews to extinguish the blaze, they could only watch the car burn out while ensuring the dry vegetation surrounding the car remained under control until help arrived. Luckily, both Wilks and Pugh were uninjured.

It was better news for Northallerton co-driver Ian Windress, who was guiding Penrith’s Paul Bird in their Ford Focus WRC, but their hopes of victory on the supporting Pirelli Tour of Cumbria fell just short after a scintillating performance on round three of the 2009 Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Championship.

The pair were comfortably leading, having set fastest times on the opening three stages in the dry and dusty conditions of Kielder Forest, but they overshot a chicane on the Chirdonhead stage. That cost them more than 50 seconds and, despite an incredible fightback, which included setting fastest times on all four stages of the second loop, they fell an agonising 4.6 seconds short of victory.

Also taking to the fast, flowing tracks of the Kielder Forest complex was Kepwick driver Peter Stephenson and co-driver Roger Birkhill in their MG S2000. The dry and dusty conditions made life difficult on the first stage, but, after a relatively problem-free day, the pair crossed the finish line 15th overall and 11th in class R4.

But a clean run through the forests was not on the cards for Ford Escort Mk II driver Alan Hughes and Whitby co-driver Mike Scrimgour. Although the pair were able to catch the car in front of them, dust problems made it difficult to get past and the pair ran wide, putting the car out of the rally.

Fortunately, under the new Super Rally legislation, the pair were able to recover their car and restart the rally on Saturday morning. The following stages saw Hughes set second and third fastest times, but he had to settle for 23rd overall and eighth in class in category three.

* * * THE second round of the Northern Karting Federation at Larkhall in Scotland presented young Cleasby racer Rob Shield with one of his toughest events to date.

After a tough time in the qualifying heats, Shield started from 21st place on the grid for the final and produced a battling performance to finish tenth.

Shield’s weekend started well with a successful test session on Saturday, but Sunday was a difficult day. In the first heat, he fought his way to the front before contact from another kart caused him to go off the track, eventually finishing 16th.

In the second heat, Shield injured his shoulder when another kart rolled, preventing him from restarting. The third heat brought further drama when Shield was again pushed off the track by another kart, finishing 19th.

Shield said: “This was one of the hardest events I have ever done, but the more trouble I had, the more I was determined to get to the end. I was pleased with the way I drove in the final and my lap times were very good.”

The third round of the championship takes place at Hooton Park, Cheshire, next month.

* * * THE Stockton-based team of Jamie and Richard Ferguson travelled to Cadwell Park last weekend and enjoyed varying fortunes.

After a reasonable start for both riders, Jamie crossed the line in the opening 125cc race in 15th, closely followed by Richard in 20th place.

The following day, both riders managed to greatly reduce their lap times, with Jamie claiming tenth position and Richard in 13th. But Richard crashed out in the next outing and was taken to hospital with a suspected broken leg. X-rays later showed that it was only badly bruised.

During the same race, Jamie noticed an unusual noise and returned to the paddock, where the balance shaft bearing was found to be coming loose, which meant his engine was unusable. With Richard still at the hospital, the team decided that his bike would be repaired, allowing Jamie to continue his day.

In the final race, the first couple of laps saw Jamie drop from the pack to 22nd position. But, after four more laps, he started to get the hang of his younger brother’s bike and began to pick off riders, crossing the finish line 11th overall.

* * * CHESTER-LE-STREET racer David Bell continued his fine early season form by claiming a victory at the Ian Watson Spring Cup at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough, last weekend.

Riding the 650 Kawasaki, Bell followed up a second placing in the opening Mini Twins race with victory in the second outing.

Also claiming a podium was the Thirsk sidecar pairing of Tony Thirkell and Nigel Barlow, who claimed a brace of second places in the F2 event on their 600cc Honda outfit.

Saltburn’s Dave Woolams posted a pair of top 12 placings on his 1,000cc Suzuki, but Scotton sidecar ace Greg Lambert was out of luck, retiring his GLR 600 outfit in the opening race.