SCOTSMEN John Bogie and Davie Paterson charged to a second successive victory on the Jack Frost Stages Rally, organised by Darlington and District MC and held at Croft circuit last weekend.

Driving their newly-acquired ex-Chris Wood MG Metro 6R4, the pair ended up 12 seconds ahead of the charging Casleton driver Ryan Champion and his Northallerton co-driver Ian Windress in their gravel specification Group A Subaru.

The Scotch Corner pairing of Tony Bardy and Peter Croft claimed third place in their Nissan Sunny Gti-R, a further 18 seconds back.

With better weather gracing the venue than for the recent Christmas Stages event, Bogie took maximum advantage of the dry track to set fastest time on SS1 by eight seconds from Bardy. But Champion's hopes immediately took a nosedive when the Impreza broke a driveshaft halfway through the test, causing him to spin and lose ten seconds.

Despite this, the 27-year-old rally instructor was equal third fastest along with Leeds brothers Phil and Mick Gallagher (MG Metro 6R4), while Leeming's Kevin Procter and co-driver Chris Ramsay from Snape opened with fifth fastest time in their Ford Sierra Cosworth.

Bogie was also quickest on SS2 before Champion set about reducing the deficit to 14 seconds at the interval with fastest times on the third and fourth stages.

Bardy was just four seconds behind Champion and embroiled in a scrap with Gallagher, while Procter, despite demolishing a bale at a chicane, was keeping Lamesley driver Andy Fenwick's Escort Cosworth at bay for fifth.

The two-wheel drive battle was also raging inside the top ten, with 2001 winner Dave Holland's immaculate Ford Escort Mk 2 being upstaged by rallycrosser Dave Bellerby, who was setting some indecently quick times in his Nova.

Bellerby, from Yafforth, and his Northallerton co-driver Mick Gilby were up to an impressive sixth overall after four stages when a bottom arm broke on the suspension, forcing them out on stage five. However, the pair had the consolation of winning the Drive of the Day trophy for their efforts.

Bogie and Champion could not be separated as they stopped the clocks on identical times on stages five and six as they edged away from the field.

Bardy continued to take time out of Gallagher, who was now starting to fall into the clutches of Proctor and Fenwick as Holland also continued his charge.

The flamboyant Champion edged out Bogie by a single second on the penultimate stage to close the gap to 13 seconds, with Bardy holding station 25 seconds off the lead.

As darkness descended, Bogie's win was secure as long as he kept it clean and, despite dropping a further second to Champion on SS8, the Dumfries driver did just that.

Bardy consolidated his third place to repeat his result at Croft over Christmas, with Gallagher easing to a comfortable fourth. Procter ended up fifth, with Holland clinching sixth.

There was plenty of other local successes among the 80-car capacity entry, headed by Crook driver Ian Peake and co-driver George Tindall in their Mitsubishi Lancer. The pair finished tenth overall and eighth in class, one place ahead of the Consett crew of Barry Renwick and John Askew in their Subaru.

Middleham brothers Stuart and John Adamson secured a late entry and finished 13th overall in their ex-Barry Renwick MG Metro 6R4, while Masham butcher Richard Welford squeezed into the top 20 with a late charge. With father Mick acting as co-driver, he overcame a spin in his Ford Escort Cosworth to claim 19th overall and 12th in class.

Newton Aycliffe's Andrew Drake finished 28th overall and eighth in class in his and co-driver Jeff Bedford's Ford Escort, two places ahead of Birtley driver Jimmy Knox and co-driver Alex Renwick in their Talbot Sunbeam.

Fresh from a spell in Virginia working as a race school instructor, Scorton's Steven Coates took a well-deserved class win on his way to 36th overall in his and co-driver Jon Richardson's Nova.

Part-time circuit racer David Cox, from Darlington, partnered by Gilling West's Terry Searle, claimed 38th overall and sixth in class in his Rover Metro.

Great Langton driver Steve Williams and co-driver Anouska Swales overcame a brush with the scenery in their Rover Metro to claim 45th overall and fourth in class. That earned them the award for top Darlington and District MC crew.

The Stockton pairing of Malcolm Burns and Calum Lawson were 43rd in their Ford Escort, while former Croft circuit manager Bryan Morris, from Dalton, and co-driver Mark Leybourne enjoyed a good run in the venerable Datsun 240Z to clinch 47th place and third in class.

The Talbot Samba of Marton's Andrew Davison and co-driver Mike Scrimgour ended up 50th overall and fifth in class, with Thirsk's Andy Chandler and Matty Fox 57th in their Escort.

Tracey Taylor-West, from Pickhill, and co-driver Tony Christon had an indiscretion with a chicane early on but still managed 60th overall in their Ford Escort Cosworth, two places ahead of the Citroen Saxo of Darlington's Paul Moss and Chris Guy.

Ingleby Barwick driver Jim Kirwan and co-driver Martin Culkin recorded a 64th place finish in their Toyota Corolla, just ahead of Durham's Kevin Garthwaite and David Turnbull in their Ford Escort.

Just four local crews failed to make it home, including Scorton's Stephen Petch and co-driver Mike Wilkinson (Tow Law) who crashed on SS1 in their Ford Ka. Darlington autotesters Paul and Russ Swift were going well in their Nova when clutch failure sidelined them on SS5.

Guisborough's John Jackson and Arthur Fenwick ran out of time in their Ford Escort, with the Chester le Street pairing of Robert and Shaun Skeoch only surviving the first stage before the engine blew on their Ford Escort.

Results. - 1 J Bogie/D Patterson, MG Metro 6R4, 30mins 20secs; 2 R Champion/I Windress, Subaru Impreza, 30.32; 3 T Bardy/P Croft, Nissan Sunny Gti-R, 30.50; 4 P Gallagher/M Gallagher, MG Metro 6R4, 31.14; 5 K Procter/C Ramsay, Ford Sierra Cosworth, 31.31; 6 D Holland/H Armstrong, Ford Escort, 31.36; 7 A Fenwick/L Tindall, Ford Escort Cosworth, 31.48; 8 A Field/R Pye, Darrian T90, 32.09; 9 S Simpson/M Booth, Subaru Impreza, 32.20; 10 I Peake/G Tindall, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7, 32.22.

l The reigning Formula One world stock car champion, John Lund, will be back in the region tomorrow to present the prizes at the annual Barford Raceway awards night.

After taking part in the highly successful return of F1 racing to the track earlier in the season, the Lancastrian makes a welcome return to the North East. He will be accompanied by Middleton in Teesdale racers John and David Toulson.

Among the awards will be the various track championships, most of which have gone the way of local drivers, including Guy Kirkpatrick (Bangers), Chris Uttley (Banger Rods), Chris Callaghan (Hot Rods) and Sam Wagner (Junior Mini Stox).

The event, at the Cockerton Band Club, West Auckland Road, Darlington, starts at 7pm. More details from North East Oval Motorsport on 07960 164589.

l Motorcycling celebrities from around the world turned out in force to pay tribute to local racer Simon 'Ronnie' Smith, 42, who died in a road accident earlier this month.

St Mary's Church in Masham was packed to overflowing last Saturday for the funeral of the Harrogate-based racer, whose widow Jane owns a hairdressing salon in the town.

Former racer Mike Edwards and his partner Jennifer led a glowing tribute to the motorcycle journalist, whose trademark Mohican haircut and thick-rimmed glasses were a welcome sight around the racetracks during his 15-year career.

He also leaves two sons, Fred and Harry, whose school was set to benefit from one third of the money collected. The other two beneficiaries are St Mary's Church and the Isle of Man Air Ambulance Fund.

The North Yorkshire Road Racing Supporters Club has arranged a tribute night, with all proceeds going to a designated trust fund. The evening, scheduled for Tuesday, March 18 at Club Amadeus in Northallerton, will see a host of personalities auctioning off various items of memorabilia. More details from Sue Symons on 01904 339647