COUNTY Durham driver Guy Wilks(pictured left) recorded a superb top 30 finish on the final round of the FIA world rally championship when he took Ford Junior Rallye Team Puma to 29th position overall on his Network Q Rally of Great Britain debut last weekend

The 21-year-old from Heighington along with Scottish co-driver Roger Herron overcame a number of minor problems in their Holiways-backed and Chris Birkbeck-prepared car to also claim a brilliant eighth in the ultra-competitive Super 1600 category which also encompassed the junior world championship

The pair got off to a steady start around the opening 2.5km 'Super Special' stage held at Cardiff Bay on Thursday evening as they posted 70th fastest time overall out of the 85 starters to lay in 17th position in class after the first night.

With a dawn start on Friday, Wilks continued to make progress up the leaderboard as the rally entered the Welsh forests and after the opening two stages in the morning, he had moved up to 65th place overall and 15th in class.

However, any hopes of further progress up the leader board were temporarily halted due to organisers having to cancel the fourth stage on the recommendation of the FIA Safety Delegate due to the sheer volume of spectators which meant it wasn't safe to run.

The pair continued their day long battle with stable mate Kris Meeke - who also has his Puma prepared at Birkbeck's Brotton workshops - and after the evening stages, Wilks lay in 55th place overall but just nine seconds down on the Irishman who held 11th in the Super 1600 class.

The start of the second leg on Saturday saw Wilks get off to a

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