YARM'S Russ Hodgson came within a lap of winning his first ever national championship race, only to be denied when a gust of wind caused him to crash his 125cc Cameron's Castle Eden Honda at Donington Park last weekend.

Following on from his superb third place in the previous round at Brands Hatch, the 21-year-old qualified in his customary fifth place amidst changeable weather conditions.

In the race, Hodgson got a good start to run with the leading bunch before moving into the lead.

He extended his advantage to nearly three seconds and was well in command going into Coppice Corner on the penultimate lap when the freak gust blew him and another competitor, John Pearson, off as they tipped into the corner.

The crash left Hodgson uninjured, but disconsolate having come so close to realising his dream - and some welcome prize money.

The last lap melee at least benefited the region's other 125cc racer, Paul Veazey, who claimed his best championship result to date by finishing in eighth place.

The 15-year-old from Middlesbrough qualified in tenth place and was running in that position for much of the 18-lap race aboard the GV Decorators Honda before the demise of Hodgson and Pearson promoted him up two places.

The end result is that Hodgson lies in tenth place in the series, four places ahead of Veazey, with the next round at Oulton Park on Monday.

Not to be outdone, Guisborough rider Dennis Hobbs made the most of the atrocious conditions to record his best finish of the year aboard the Hobbs Racing Honda Fireblade in the Superstock class.

The 19-year-old qualified on row four of the grid in Saturday's dry conditions, but took maximum advantage of the wet track to move up to fifth place in Sunday's race on his under-powered machine.

Hobbs was challenging for fourth when he lost the rubber handlebar grip and his hand kept sliding off the slippery metal handlebar.

Despite the disadvantage, Hobbs held on to fifth place to claim his first points of the year and is now contemplating a switch of machinery in order to bolster his championship aspirations.

Superbike rider Mark Burr once again just missed out on scoring points after two races aboard the 750cc Toshiba Hawk Kawasaki.

The 21-year-old from Darlington qualified in a career-best 15th place, allowing him to run in the all-important Superpole. He managed to improve one place, but problems in the first race, when he nearly crashed, caused him to pull in.

The second leg proved little better when he had to pit again, but Burr gamely battled on to 16th place, just one outside the championship points.

Leyburn's James Brackenbury was another rider to miss out on points when he came home in 21st place aboard the Frank Buck Yamaha in a race shortened to just four laps.

Earlier in the weekend, the 18-year-old had finished sixth in the Junior Superstock qualification race, but oil on the circuit meant the final was severely curtailed.

l Local aces Steve Petch (Scorton) and co-driver John Richardson (Romanby) made a successful start to their British Rally Championship campaign with a solid fifth place finish on the opening event in Northumberland.

The pair, in their ex-works SGP Motorsport Hyundai Accent WRC, endured no major problems in the Pirelli International Rally based in Gateshead last weekend, apart from a couple of punctures on SS4 and dust problems from catching a car early on the following day.

All of the region's other crews made it to the finish at Gateshead Stadium after three days of tortuous action in Kielder Forest.

Heighington's Guy Wilks overcame gearbox problems on his MSR Ford Puma, as well as the in-car fire extinguisher going off, to record a 14th place finish and second in the Super 1600 class behind the MG of Gwyndaf Evans.

Shildon driver Barry Johnson and co-driver Peter Croft (Middleton Tyas) brought their Barrier Surveillance Subaru home in 16th position overall.

Kepwick's Peter Stephenson set fastest time in front of nearly 10,000 spectators at the Watergate Park Super Special on Friday evening, before bringing his Able UK Subaru WRC to the finish in 18th position overall.

Reigning Ford Puma champion David Henderson suffered a massive time loss when he punctured on the Rushy Knowe stage, but the Sacriston driver bounced back to record a 21st place finish overall in his 1600cc Ford Puma, which was good enough for fifth place in class.

In the supporting National event, it was Castleton's Ryan Champion and co-driver Ian Windress from Northallerton who emerged victorious on their way to taking maximum points in the opening round of the Ferodo Ford Puma 1400cc Championship.

With virtually no testing beforehand, the pair had minimal problems to take victory by nearly a minute in their Champion Tyres car, while Consett's Stephen Robson guided his driver Ian Chadwick to third place in their VW Polo.

Youngsters Stephen Petch (Scorton) and Michael Wilkinson (Bishop Auckland) endured a broken bottom arm in their SGP Ford Ka to claim 13th place overall and eighth in the Ford Ka category.

Just one place behind was Bishop Auckland's Tristan Pye and co-driver Hayley Selby in a similar car, while Lanchester driver Trevor Gamble and co-driver Ken Bills finished tenth in class.

Joyce Champion (Castleton) guided Sophie Robinson to 16th place overall and sixth in the VW Polo Cup class.

Thimbleby's David Brown finished third along with co-driver Paul Hudson (Darlington) in the shortened Clubman's event in their Steel River Ford Puma Evo 4x4, with Redcar driver Dave Craven and co-driver Ian Jackson from Eaglescliffe taking sixth in the NSS Ford Cosworth.

Swainby's Alun Pearson finished ninth in his Peugeot 206 in the opening round of the 206 Cup on Saturday before retiring from Sunday's event when he and co-driver Simon Brook slid off on the penultimate stage.

l Northallerton Auto Club is forging ahead with plans to run the traditional Christmas Stages Rally on the army tracks around Catterick, except this year it will be four months early.

Because of the success of the single venue rally at Croft over the festive period, which is set to become an annual event, the revised multi-venue rally has been scheduled for Sunday, August 25. Organisers are hoping to avoid the usual problems caused by the wintry weather up on the ranges.

Already a number of championships have signed up the event as a qualifying round and a capacity entry is expected, although a title sponsor for one of the north's most popular events is still sought.

Meanwhile, the club is celebrating its ruby jubilee this year, having been formed in 1962, and a commemorative function is planned for later in the year.

Romanby Golf Club is likely to be the venue for the bash on Saturday, September 14 and members old and new are welcome. For more details contact Dave Owen at Motoscope on 01609 780155.