FORD Rallye Sport Junior Team driver Ryan Champion endured a bitterly disappointing end to last weekend's Manx International Rally when he was forced to retire from what looked like a certain Super 1600 win.

The Castleton driver was also sixth overall on the final morning of the three-day event, which comprised round four of the Pirelli British Rally Championship.

Co-driven as usual by Gloucester's Cliff Simmons, Champion was confident of a good performance on the Isle of Man after setting fastest Super 1600 times on the recent Jim Clark Memorial Rally.

By halfway, the crew had moved their Road Eye-supported Puma up to second in S1600 behind the MG of former British champion Gwyndaf Evans.

After Evans was struck by gearbox problems, Champion was able to build a comfortable lead over the factory Peugeot of Gary Jennings and move up to an impressive sixth overall behind five of the four-wheel drive World Rally Cars.

Champion said: "The car performed faultlessly all event. We had made some changes to the suspension to improve the car over the bumps, which took time to get sorted, but other than that it has all been routine maintenance."

However, only a few stages from the end of the toughest round of the British Championship, disaster struck.

The pair were running first car on the road and the stage which they retired on had already been used once, meaning the edge of the road had broken up on the first part of a kink. Champion caught it with the left front wheel, which pitched the car across the road and into a solid earth bank. The right front wheel hit the scenery and the pair rolled out of the event.

Champion said: "I am absolutely gutted for the whole team. All we can do now is put it behind us and hope for a change of fortune on the next event."

The Rallye Sport Ireland Team have already started work on the car to prepare it for the next event, the Ulster Rally in Northern Ireland which takes place on September 5 and 6.

MonsterMob Ducati team boss Paul Bird from Penrith was lying in fifth place when he crashed out on SS8 in his works-backed Hyundai. The same stage also claimed Appleby's Dougie Hall, who crashed his Mitsubishi Lancer.

Reigning British Touring Car champion James Thompson, originally from Strensall, also went out on the same stretch of road when it was used again later in the event.

Meanwhile, Scorton's Stephen Petch and co-driver Mike Wilkinson from Tow Law enjoyed some good fortune for once this season when they came away from the Isle of Man with a superb runner-up placing in the Ford Ka Championship.

The teenagers were having a steady run around the tricky Manx lanes in their SGP Motorsport car, prepared by Northallerton's Richie Windress. They gradually climbed the leaderboard throughout the two-day event, taking advantage of the high attrition rate normally associated with the event, and emerged with second place to equal their performance on the North Humberside Forest Rally earlier in the year.

The result moved them up inside the top ten of the series going into next weekend's Mewla Rally in Wales.

Great Broughton driver Jonny Brown and co-driver James Lester from Harmby struggled to ninth place in class, while Darlington's Paul Hudson endured the heartbreak of a final stage retirement in the Ford he was sharing with Gigi Bettencourt Gomez.

* Darlington rally driver Paul Swift was hoping for better fortune in last weekend's round of the Peugeot 206 Super Cup, but sadly his efforts came to nothing when engine problems thwarted his bid.

The 23-year-old and co-driver Alyson Marlow made a good start in the Harry Flatters Rally, which used the classic Ministry of Defence roads around the Brecon Beacons.

The Specsavers-backed driver said: "We were allowed to recce the stages before the rally started which allowed me to have a close look at how tricky the terrain is on the Epynt ranges, but we had good pacenotes and were keen to put these into practice".

With support from Smith & Allan Oils and Darlington Peugeot dealership Williamson Motors, the car had been fully prepared for the event after the crew's last outing on the Jim Clark Memorial Rally last month. But the pair suffered an overheating engine early in the rally and were forced to retire.

l Darlington autograsser Graham Blackburn upheld local honour with a superb victory in the National Autograss Championships held in glorious conditions at Hillhouse Farm, Thornborough, near Masham, last weekend.

Driving in the class seven unlimited saloons category, the Yorkshire Dales driver saw off the opposition to take a deserved victory ahead of Paul Waldron and Kraig Murley and be crowned national champion.

Harrogate's Steve Hughes also emerged with a win when he took the class six over 1300cc front-wheel drive final.

* Croft circuit near Darlington will echo to the sound of yesteryear once again when the Classic Racing Motorcycle Club hold their annual meeting over three days, starting today.

And with the sport's governing body, the Auto Cycle Union, celebrating its centenary this year, riders will be competing for an additional trophy in the ACU 100 handicap race.

The format for the event will see 100 classic and post-classic riders selected to compete from various categories, with heats being run this afternoon to determine the grid for tomorrow's final.

The race will be handicapped to allow the smaller engine sizes a chance against the bigger bikes and the top three riders will be awarded trophies and garlands.

There will be plenty of action throughout the weekend, with no less than 21 classes, both solo and sidecar, set to be fought out around the 2.13-mile full circuit.

With top riders such as Lea Gourlay, Mike Hose, Phil Sharpe, Allan Oversby and Colin Breeze in the entry, the racing is bound to be fast and furious.

Practice starts today and tomorrow at 9.30am and at noon on Sunday, with racing immediately afterwards on all three days. Adult admission is just £6 today and tomorrow and £12 on Sunday, with accompanied children under 15 admitted free.

l Runaway British Championship leader Shane Byrne pays a rare visit to the region on Tuesday when he takes part in the latest of the summer chat shows organised by the North Yorkshire Road Racing Supporters Club.

'Shakey', as he is known to his legions of fans, will be at Elders Bar in Northallerton from 8.30 onwards. He will be joined by championship rival Michael Rutter and team-mate Stuart Easton in the show, which will raise funds for local competitors.

There will be the usual raffle and auction, plus a late bar. Adult admission costs £5, with accompanied children £2. For more information contact Sue Symons on 01904 339647