DARLINGTON rally driver Peter Ellerby was back in action last weekend when he tackled the three-day 138.com Manx Rally which comprised a round of the British and Historic Rally Championship and the 66-year-old once again recorded a decent finish.

Along with co-driver Phil Price in their historic specification Morris Mini Mk1, which started life as an 850cc version in 1966 which Peter has lovingly restored to a 1293cc Cooper ‘S’ model over the past 12 years, they came home in 93rd overall and 12th in class out of the 150 starters after being as high as 72nd overall and third in class at one point.

IN a weekend of drama, Renault UK Clio Cup racing driver Max Coates took a ninth and a fourth-place finish at Silverstone last weekend to maintain his bid for honours.

11th in qualifying, the Scorton driver lined up for the opening race just as a thunderstorm engulfed the Northamptonshire track meaning a long delay and once the race did start, it did so behind the safety car, reducing the opportunity for Coates to gain valuable positions in his hunt for second in the championship, and he eventually crossed the line in ninth place.

Race two was also a wet affair and after lining up in 13th place, Max battled his way through the field to take fourth position at the flag, just missing out on a deserved podium. The weekend’s results mean that Coates remains fourth in the standings, with two rounds remaining at the Brands Hatch GP circuit next weekend.

REDCAR SG Petch Bears staged the oldest Individual meeting in English speedway when a selection of riders contested the Silver Helmet Trophy and which saw a line up of three home riders plus 13 invited guest riders to compete over 30 heats.

Despite a downpour just before the start, Bears riders Charles Wright and Ben Barker won the first two heats before Workington’s Ty Proctor won heat three and Paul Starke of Peterborough’s won the next heat. In the next round of heats Wright repeated his win as did Procter and as the meeting progressed, the track started to dry out.

With four heats remaining the leading eight riders were pushing hard to qualify for the Semi Final. A win for Wright in heat 17 guaranteed his place in the final, whilst ex-Bear Richard Lawson won his last heat to guarantee him a place in the final too. Former Redcar rider Aaron Summers and Scunthorpe’s Ryan Douglas completed the line up from which saw Wright got the gate and led all the way to the finish, in the fastest time of the meeting, with Summers second and Lawson third. On Saturday, the Bears were beaten 56-36 at Glasgow 56 and the meeting against Newcastle on Sunday was cancelled due to the weather.

NORTHALLERTON Automobile Club have announced that the annual Swift Signs Christmas Stages Rally will this year be held on Saturday 30th December at Croft Circuit. Regulations are expected to be available by November 1st and another capacity entry is expected