ROUND two of the Darlington and District Motor Club's Northern Sports and Saloon Car Championship saw many local competitors travel to Oulton Park in Cheshire last weekend as part of the CSCC Classic and Jaguar Raceday.

Stockton driver David Botterill, competing in both the NSSCC race and the Michelin Porsche Club Championship race in his Strasse-sponsored 924 Carrera GT, qualified eighth on the grid for the Porsche championship race and finished in a respectable seventh place overall and fourth in class.

In the NSSCC race, he qualified 12th but was only able to make up one place, finishing 11th and fourth in class respectively.

Durham's Simon Blanckley overcame qualifying problems with his Peugeot 205 gearbox to finish a creditable sixth after battling his way through the field, just being beaten by Darlington's David Cox in his Peugeot 205.

Current British autotest champion Paul Swift, from Darlington, made his debut at the event in a Honda Civic on loan from fellow NSSCC driver David Cox. Swift qualified 11th on the grid and finished tenth in the race.

Other local drivers in action included Mick Starkey and Darren Flounders from Hartlepool as well as Darlington's Terry Wright, among others. Round three of the NSSCC takes place next weekend at Mallory Park in Leicestershire.

l Out competing last weekend on the John Overend Memorial Stages Rally were Mark Thompson from Evenwood and co-driver Giles Dykes from Barnard Castle in their Belts Ltd and Williamson Motors-backed Peugeot 206.

A puncture near the end of stage two slowed the team slightly, but they still held 18th overall. The crew caught a car on stage three and were slowed by dust, but a clean run through stage four saw them put up the quickest time for a two-wheel drive car and close to within eight seconds of the class leader.

Stages five and six were completed with no problems, but on stage seven Thompson hit a tyre and bent the steering. The problem was fixed in service and the crew completed stage eight to finish 13th overall and third in class.

Also at the event were Alistair Hutchinson from Eggleston and St John Dykes of Barnard Castle in their Northern Energy Autogas and Tees Valley Engineering-backed Renault Clio.

The first stage had been going well until 200 metres before the finish when a driveshaft broke. The crew managed to finish the stage and get the car repaired in service, but a further transmission problem on the second stage brought their rally to an end.

Dave Craven from Guisborough had been lying second overall until a problem on stage seven forced him and Hartburn co-driver Ian Jackson into retirement in their NSS Mitsubishi.

Bishop Auckland's Neil Ayre and debutant co-driver Mick Kinghorn from Sunderland had a steady run in their Vauxhall Nova to finish 39th overall and tenth in class.

l Following a move from its temporary home in Gateshead for the past couple of years, the Pirelli International Rally heads back to its Carlisle base as round two of the Pirelli Kwik Fit British Rally Championship gets under way this evening.

With most of the competitive mileage once again being staged in the infamous Kielder Forest, there are bound to be a few twists and turns come the finish ramp tomorrow night, and, as well as the traditional forest stages, a new concept has been inaugurated for this year.

The opening two stages of the event will be at the P-Zero spectator stage, located at Newby Grange near Crosby on Eden, about three miles due east of Carlisle. This is a purpose-built facility and features two giant jumps and a water splash.

There is adjacent parking, toilets, commentary and the Pirelli Rally Show and the action starts at 6.45 this evening before crews make two visits tomorrow at 11am and 5pm. There will also be stunt shows and giant screens in place for the complete rally experience without the need to trek miles into the forests.

Heading the entry list is current British champion David Higgins, who is driving a works Mitsubishi this year having won the title driving the SGP Motorsport of Darlington Hyundai Accent WRC.

Higgins will be followed by brother Mark in the Ford Focus WRC, with former champion Jonny Milner making a surprise return to the series and seeded at number three. One interesting entry is Welshman Gwyndaf Evans, who will be debuting the brand new works Ford Fiesta S1600 car.

Barry Johnson from Shildon will be in action in his Subaru WRC, as will Northallerton's Ian Windress, who will be co-driving for Penrith's Paul Bird. Other local competitors include Scorton's Stephen Petch and his Tow Law co-driver Michael Wilkinson in their Subaru, while Northallerton shopkeeper Darren Grimston and Masham butcher Richard Welford will take part in tomorrow's national event in their Electrocare Escort.

Top ten entries: 1 D Higgins/D Barritt, Mitsubishi Lancer; 2 M Higgins/B Thomas, Ford Focus WRC; 3 J Milner/N Beech, TBA; 4 A McHale/B Murphy, Ford Focus WRC; 5 P Bird/I Windress, Ford Focus WRC; 6 B Johnson/TBA, Subaru WRC; 7 S Perez/N Dashfield, Ford Focus WRC; 8 Tapio Laukkanen/TBA, Subaru; 9 S Ling/I Allsopp, Hyundai Accent WRC; 10 Jon Ingram/C Wood, Ford Focus WRC.

* Croft circuit near Darlington will reverberate to the sounds of yesteryear when the Historic Sports Car Club heads north for round four of the championship tomorrow.

The popular series will see capacity grids in most classes and will feature various categories for single-seaters, sports cars and saloons in a throwback to the 1970s heyday of the circuit which saw many top drivers race at Croft.

In addition to the Classic F3 series, which features cars raced by the likes of Mansell, Piquet and Prost - many of which are still in their original colours - single-seater action will also see the Legends Racing Historic Formula Ford Championship.

But the feature race will undoubtedly be the Derek Bell Trophy Race in association with Motor Sport Magazine, which will see various open class cars in action, including some famous Formula One machinery from the past.

Classic, Historic and Road Sports cars will also be in action, as will drivers in the 70s Road Saloons and Jaguar XK series, meaning an action-packed day of nostalgia and close racing for both competitors and spectators alike.

Tomorrow's action starts at 9.15 with practice, followed by racing. Adult admission costs £10, with accompanied children aged 15 years and under admitted free.

* Star names continue to sign up for the annual Riders v Media charity BSB soccer match, sponsored by Croft circuit, which will take place on Friday, June 3 at Darlington Rugby Club at 7.30pm in aid of St Teresa's Hospice in Darlington.

The annual fundraiser is organised to coincide with the visit of the British Superbikes to the region and star names such as Superbike aces Sean Emmett and Leon Haslam and Tyne Tees sports presenter Andy Kerr are already enlisted.

Tyne Tees sports reporter Simon O'Rourke is also expected to grace the pitch, as is former Moto GP star Jeremy McWilliams, the last British rider to win a world championship race. Channel Four bike sport commentator Barry Nutley and a host of racers from the support races will also be involved.

* The Hawk Kawasaki pairing of Glen Richards and Dean Thomas will take centre stage when the North Yorkshire Road Racing Supporters Club holds a chat show in Elders Bar on Tuesday evening.

To coincide with the official test day for the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Croft circuit the same day, the pair of Australian riders will visit Northallerton for the charity chat show which gets under way at 8pm. There will be spot prizes, giveaways and a raffle and admission costs just £3 per adult, with accompanied children £1. More details from Sue Symons on 01904 339647.