AFTER an encouraging outing at Hooten Park, in Liverpool, a couple of weeks previously, Exelby kart racer Megan Stephenson was back in action last weekend at the Wombwell circuit, near Barnsley, where she again posted some good results despite not having the best of luck.

On the Saturday test day, the 12-year-old Bedale High School student was in the top five all day and set the fastest time in one session, meaning she was confident going into Sunday’s races.

In race one, Megan made a great start but was hit from behind and then collided with the kart in front. She was unlucky to be penalised 10 seconds, which saw her classified 17th.

Megan started race two in 14th place on the grid and was unable to climb any higher than 11th at the flag, so was determined to make amends in the third race. Starting from fifth, she was up to third on the first lap and, after a race-long battle with some more experienced drivers, was holding an impressive sixth place before losing out on the final corner to eventually claim a battling eighth.

The results meant she started from 14th in the final and, due to time constraints, the race had been shortened. Megan was hopeful of a top 10 placing and some skilful driving saw her make her way up to ninth before, with two laps to go, she was taken out by the kart behind, spinning her off the track.

Undeterred, she re-joined in 17th place and battled up to 12th at the flag, gaining another place due to the errant driver who caused the accident being penalised.

Megan now holds 10th position in the NKF Championship going into the final round at Wigan next month. Before that, she will be in action at Grantham in early October hoping for some better luck.

GUISBOROUGH taxidermist Dave Hornbrook stuffed the opposition when he and co-driver Matt Sample took their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4 to a superb second place on last Sunday’s Vale of York Stages Rally, held at Melbourne, near York.

South Kilvington publican Nick Kitching and co-driver Drew Trollope were also in fine form with seventh overall and second in class in their Ford RS2000, while the Teesside pairing of Mike Thornton and Dave Scrimgour finished 18th overall and third in class in their Ford Escort Mexico.

Northallerton duo Kevin Franks and Craig Walley overcame a 30-minute penalty due to a broken driveshaft on the opening stage to claim 29th overall and fifth in class in their Northallerton Tyre and Battery-backed Ford Escort Mk5, taking a class win in the annual Melbourne Rally Championship as a consolation.

Three places further back were Kirkby Fleetham’s Errol Bairstow and Bedale co-driver Shaun Wilson, who also encountered problems in their Subaru Impreza to end up ninth in class.

BEDALE pair Tommi Graham and co-driver Mike Bailey recorded 11th place overall and fourth in class in their Mitsubishi Lancer when the Pendragon Stages Rally took place on the Warcop ranges, near Appleby, last Sunday.

Despite a lowly seeding, Mickleton father and son Alistair and Joe Hutchinson brought their LPG-powered Renault Clio home in 13th overall and fourth in class as Richmond brothers Mark and Andrew Constantine claimed third in class and 21st overall in their CBS-backed Vauxhall Corsa.

Three places adrift in 24th overall were the Redmire pairing of Andrew and Rachel Foster, who took a fine second in class in their 1400cc Vauxhall Nova, with the Proton Millington of Consett’s Barry Renwick and Whickham co-driver Paul Hughes 27th overall and eighth in class.

Durham driver John Nicholson and Chester co-driver Peter Littlefield’s Ford RS2000 took 28th overall and eighth in class, while the Ford Puma of Gary Laverick, from Seaham, co-driven by Sunderland’s Phil Kenny, took 29th overall and ninth in class.

Pickhill garage proprietor Bruce Lindsay guided James Munro to 38th overall and seventh in class in their Peugeot 205, while the Bishop Auckland pair of Dave Coatesworth and Andrew Hutchinson survived an encounter with a ditch to finish 46th overall and fifth in class in their MGZR.

Thirsk’s Jonathan and Nigel Bennett claimed 49th overall and seventh in class in their Morris Mini, but SS3 claimed Stockton’s Neil Colman in the Subaru WRC he was sharing with Chris Ford and Northallerton driver Craig Whitehead retired his and Wiggington co-driver Glyn Casey’s Peugeot on the same stage.

In Scotland, Potto driver Keith Davison and Ripon co-driver Henry Richardson took 52nd overall and sixth in class on the Galloway Hills Stages Rally, but Jan Budge and Pickhill’s Chris Pattison, who was also competing in the following day’s Great North Run, retired their Subaru Impreza on the third stage.

REDCAR SG Petch Bears speedway team were in action at the Media Prima Arena last Friday evening and suffered a defeat in their penultimate home match of the season.

Ipswich Witches captain Danny King won the first heat in the fastest time of the meeting, with team-mate James Sargeant in second, and the visitors again scored a 5-1 in heat two with a win for Joe Jacobs ahead of Danyon Hume. The Bears made a strong comeback in the next heat with a fine win for Hugh Skidmore, with team-mate Jonas B Andersen close behind, and heat four saw a revitalised Lasse Bjerre score a convincing win over Witches' Ben Barker to make the scoreline 13-11 in favour of the visitors.

The points were split in the next heat, where King won again, chased by Andersen and Skidmore. In the next three heats, the Witches scored a 4-2 before Andersen won heat nine for the Bears to split the points. In heat 10, the Bears rode a brilliant team race to score a 5-1, with the only win of the match for David Bellego ahead of Tobias Busch, but still trailed by four points.

The Witches pulled out all the stops in heats 11 and 12 to increase their lead to 12 points. Bellego and Bjerre then pushed King really hard, but an unfortunate fall on the last lap for Bellego saw the result declared as a 4-2 to the Witches to give them an unassailable 14-point lead.

In the penultimate heat, the points were split with a win for Witches' Risager, who was chased all the way by Andersen and Payne, before King won the final heat for the Witches to make it a final scoreline of Bears 37 Witches 53.