EASINGWOLD sidecar racer Steve Webster and passenger Paul Woodhead clinched their fourth win of the season to regain the Superside World Championship lead after a rain-soaked sixth round at Brands Hatch in Kent last weekend.

Rivals Jrg Steinhausen and Trevor Hopkinson made the early running, but Webster hit the front on lap seven and the eight times world champion did not relinquish his lead despite a thoroughly captivating battle with the young German and his British passenger.

Webster, who earlier in the day romped to an amazing 24th consecutive pole position, had to overcome the deteriorating conditions as well as a slow rear puncture before taking the win by just half a second.

"Visibility was an obvious problem and it's taxing on the brain when you know that you dare not put a foot wrong. It was important to get a good result and lead the championship," said Webster, who made it win number 55 and now leads the championship by six points.

Steinhausen gave Webster plenty to worry about, but was not able to conjure the killer move and had to settle for second position, with 2001 world champions Klaus Klaffenboch and Christian Parzer from Austria taking third place.

With just three rounds to go, the Castrol Suzuki team have a month off before trying to consolidate their lead when the series visits Assen in Holland in early September.

Also in action at Brands was Ingleby Barwick rider David Gatenby, who was hoping to celebrate his 23rd birthday in style when he took to the grid for round six of the Axo European Superstock Championship.

The Beowulf Suzuki rider qualified his GSXR 1000cc machine in 28th position before battling to 25th place in front of 100,000 fans, just a couple of places down on his last result when he was placed 23rd at the Italian round at Misano last month.

* Irishman Christopher Evans maintained his lead in the BRDA Rallycross Championship when the Wicklow-based Nissan Micra driver claimed another win in the Modified category.

Driving the Tony Bardy car prepared at Scotch Corner, Evans beat off the hugely determined Des Wheatley from Hartlepool in his Rover Metro to win the K&N Filters-backed category and take his fourth victory out of the seven rounds held to date.

Great Langton driver Dave Bellerby qualified on pole for the A final, but went out of the race on the first lap after getting a puncture on his Vauxhall Nova.

The Yokohama Stock Hatch class had another new winner as reigning British rally champion Jonny Milner, from Driffield, made a sensational return to the sport in which he made his name. In his first rallycross event for a decade, he beat off the championship leader to win the A final.

The next round of the series takes place at Lydden on August bank holiday Monday.

* After a luckless season so far defending their Scottish championship, Shildon rally driver Barry Johnson and co-driver Stewart Merry tried their hand in the Welsh forests and emerged victorious when they won the Quinton Stages.

After only deciding to enter the event at the last minute, the former trials rider was pleased that his luck had changed at last. "This was my first visit to this area of the country to rally and it certainly won't be the last, the stages are fantastic", said Johnson after winning the first seven stages and coasting to a much-needed win in his Subaru WRC.

Johnson conceded that he was wondering where the next good result was coming from. He said: "It was good for the whole team morale wise and Stewart kept me on my toes all day as he steered me around faultlessly yet again. We had a massive moment on stage seven flat in top gear, however this time the gods smiled on us."

On his last outing, the engine on Johnson's Subaru Impreza WRC gave up while he was battling for the McRae Stages lead and the team only received a late replacement a week last Wednesday from Irish preparation specialist Kenny McKinstry.

Johnson and Merry's next event will be in the United States later this month in a Hyundai.

l The sixth round of the Ford Rallye Sport Ka Championship heads across the Irish Sea to the Isle of Man this weekend for the biggest challenge of the championship so far.

Four local competitors go for glory in the Manx Trophy Rally, which forms part of the illustrious Manx International Rally. The event follows the route of the International competitors along some of the best tarmac stages in Europe.

Great Broughton driver Jonny Brown and Harmby co-driver James Lester will look to build on their recent good form and come away with a podium finish at the end of their most gruelling event to date.

Since the vastly shortened Jim Clark Junior Rally last month, the pair have been looking forward to the Manx and its twisty stages which cover more than 100 miles of the island's roads. The youngsters will be looking to improve on their eighth place in the standings.

With a pair of podium finishes in the last two rounds following a disastrous start to their campaign, they will be looking to continue their good form.

Also contesting the event will be the SGP Motorsport team of Scorton's Stephen Petch and his Tow Law co-driver Michael Wilkinson, who hope for better luck after retiring earlier in the season when they contested the Manx National Rally.

Wilkinson lies in ninth place in the co-drivers standings, with Petch just outside the top ten after a run of bad luck this season.

l Organisers of the Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship have recently unveiled the provisional calendar for the 2004 series, which includes a return to the coveted British F1 Grand Prix support line-up after an absence of seven years.

The under-fire British Grand Prix is one of the pinnacles of the British motor sport calendar and the F1 race-day support slot for a non-championship race will give the current BTCC manufacturers, including MG, Honda and Vauxhall, the opportunity to perform on the same prestigious stage as the likes of Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Jaguar.

The 2004 BTCC season is provisionally scheduled to begin on Easter Sunday at Thruxton and could also see the championship returning to Scotland, depending on further negotiations.

However, local fans are once again likely to be out in force as Croft circuit has retained its place in the calendar with another round in mid-summer.

This year's event attracted nearly 20,000 spectators and the provisional date for 2004 has been fixed for the last weekend in July, two weeks later than this year.

Provisional dates: April 10 and 11: Thruxton; May 1, 2 and 3: Brands Hatch; May 15/16: Silverstone; May 30 and 31: Oulton Park; June 12 and 13: Mondello Park; June 26 and 27: Rockingham/Knockhill (TBA); TBC: British GP, Silverstone; July 24 and 25: Croft; August 21 and 22: Brands Hatch; September 4 and 5: Snetterton; September 18 and 19: Donington Park