Northallerton co-driver John Richardson made a welcome return to competitive action following three and a half months out when he was reunited with Scorton's Steve Petch on last weekend's Mutiny National Rally in Wales.

Having sustained back and rib injuries in a 100mph smash on the Kall Kwik Rally back in February, Richardson reported no ill effects as the pair gradually upped their pace to finish in 11th place in the SGP Motorsport Hyundai Accent WRC.

Richardson now hopes to accompany Petch on the remainder of their 2005 outings before a concerted effort to win the 2006 ANCRO National Gravel Rally Championship gets under way over the winter.

Fellow Allertonian Ian Windress was also in action on the Llandrindod Wells-based event in the Stobart Motorsport Ford Focus WRC he shares with Cumbrian driver Paul Bird.

The pair were lying in third place at half distance until a time-consuming spin relegated them to sixth, but that was enough to increase their lead at the top of the championship with just three rounds remaining.

Shildon's Barry Johnson endured gearbox problems in his Barrier Surveillance Subaru WRC and could only manage eighth at the finish, but still hangs on to the runner-up spot with co-driver Stewart Merry.

Castleton's Ryan Champion was using the MSR Motorsport-prepared Conchango Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 on gravel for the first time and ended up 12th overall and fourth in class along with York co-driver Craig Thorley. Despite not repeating his Roush Manx Rally win of a month ago, Champion is still in contention for the works-supported Mitsubishi drive in 2006.

Stevie Petch from Hamsterley and Tow Law co-driver Mike Wilkinson got the better of the all-Group N Subaru battle with Bishop Auckland driver Tristan Pye and Scottish co-driver Kirsty Riddick. They ended up 18th and 19th respectively with less than 20 seconds separating them after nearly an hour and 20 minutes of competition.

Topcliffe's Tim Pearcey and Pickhill co-driver Mick Johnson impressed on their way to 16th place overall and sixth in class in their Kerridge Mitsubishi Lancer, while the Northallerton crew of Charlie Jackson and Ben Smith retired their Ford Escort Cosworth on the road section after the very last stage.

l Leeming Bar businessman Kevin Procter and Northallerton co-driver Mike Gilby were the highest-placed European crew in last weekend's Rally Barbados 2005, but could not improve on their fifth position of the previous year.

Procter was seeded at number five in the Procter's Coaches/Swift Signs/PC Vehicle Rentals-sponsored Ford Puma Evo 4x4 in the Caribbean's largest motor sport event and, with a total of 80 starters, the battle was intense throughout the two-day event.

Things started to go wrong early on for Procter, with flames seen coming from the rear brakes of the Puma on the first stage of the weekend, followed by a very slow time on the second.

But things improved and Procter was regularly in the top half-dozen stage times overall, keeping him in the hunt for a good finish.

He was seventh by lunch on day one and moved up to sixth overall by the overnight halt, about eight seconds adrift of local Toyota dealer Roger Hill (Toyota Celica GT4), with whom he enjoyed an entertaining battle last year. But eventually the Yorkshiremen upped the pace to claim even more silverware to add to their already impressive haul so far in 2005.

l Driving their Northern Energy Autogas/Tees Valley Engineering-backed Renault Clio, Alistair Hutchinson from Eggleston and Barnard Castle co-driver St John Dykes were in action last weekend on the Proflex Stages Rally in Lancashire, as were Evenwood's Mark Thompson and co-driver Giles Dykes from Barnard Castle in their Belts Ltd and Williamson Motors-backed Peugeot 206.

Hutchinson finished just one second short of second in class on his way to ninth overall, with Thompson having to settle for tenth overall and fourth in class.

The results moved Hutchinson up to fourth overall in the North of England Tarmacadam Championship and the crew up to fifth overall in the Kent Cams Championship. Thompson and Dykes moved up to third in the Kent Cams Championship.

l See back page for a report on last weekend's action at Croft.