NORTH-EAST drivers Barry Johnson and Guy Wilks are flying high after a highly successful weekend at the Scottish Rally.

Shildon's Johnson came third overall, while Darlington's Wilks stormed to victory in the Super 1600 class.

Jonny Milner and Nicky Beech in their Subaru Impreza WRC won the rally, the third event of the British Rally Championship, finishing just nine seconds ahead of David Higgins's Hyundai Accent WRC. However, the North-East pair were hot on their heels.

Johnson's finish means he is now second in the Championship, 12 points behind Higgins, a point ahead of third-placed Matthew Wilson and two ahead of fourth-placed Milner.

"The first stage was spot on and then we had a third-quickest time on the second stage," said Johnson, whose car was previously raced by world champion Petter Solberg.

"We went to do the third stage which was supposed to be in the light but unfortunately a spectator fell and dislocated a knee and they stopped the stage.

"By the time it was open again it was pitch black and that put us back a bit as we didn't have the right lights on.

"The next morning we had a reasonable start and on stage seven we actually passed four cars during the 16 miles and that put us into third position.

"Only once, and I have been rallying for a while, have I ever done that."

After previously admitting he was still getting used to the car, Johnson believes he and co-driver Stewart Merry have now got the measure of it and is looking to build on what he admitted was his somewhat surprising success so far. "We are second in the British Championship and it doesn't get much better than that. It's the pinnacle of British rallying," he said.

"The next few rallies are on tarmac and the car is, if anything, a tarmac car so we should be really good on those."

Wilks, meanwhile, as well as sweeping the class, finished a tremendous fourth overall.

He and co-driver Phil Pugh won nine of the ten special stages in their Suzuki Ignis to finish nearly a minute-and-a-half ahead of nearest rival, Leon Pesticcio in a Fiat Punto.

The result sees Wilks in second place in the Kwik-Fit Pirelli British Super 1600 Championship, following his maximum 20 points score in the previous round in Wales.

The 23-year-old said: "I'm absolutely delighted to secure another maximum points and feel on top of the world at the moment.

"The car was superb throughout, except for a slow puncture on stage six, which lost us just a few seconds."

The win comes on the back of a superb drive in the Acropolis round of the Junior World Rally Championship the previous weekend.

Wilks added: "The last ten days have been very tiring but given me such big rewards with victories in both Scotland and Greece. I can't wait for the next rally."

Wilks and Pugh head for Turkey and the Junior World Rally Championship between June 25 and 27 with the next British event being the Jim Clark Rally on July 2 and 3, an event in which Johnson is also competing.

Published: 15/06/2004