FORD Focus WRC driver Dermot Carnegie emerged victorious in the inaugural English Rallycross Masters held at Croft circuit on Monday.

The Irishman had to fend off a determined last-ditch effort from local hero Tony Bell as the Ferryhill driver went all out for victory in his Toyota Corolla WRC, but the former bike racer couldn't pull it off and had to settle for runner-up spot at his home track.

In the Super National class, Hartlepool's Des Wheatley finished runner-up in his Rover Metro ahead of Gosforth's David Binks (BMW Mini), with the Simon Bailes-backed Peugeot 206 of Northallerton's Dave Bellerby coming home in fourth place.

Bellerby was again using the meeting as a test for the rear-wheel drive car and the Procter Motorsport Team reported good progress with development, which is more than could be said for teammate Kevin Procter.

The Leeming transport boss qualified his Lotus Exige in pole position, but a pair of broken driveshafts ruled him out of contention during the heats.

* British Superbike Championship rider Dennis Hobbs' disastrous start to the 2005 season was compounded when he crashed during practice for round four of the Bennett's British Superbike Championship over the bank holiday weekend at Oulton Park in Cheshire.

Riding the Team Nvidia Yamaha R1, the 22-year-old from Guisborough slid off at the Britten's chicane and suffered a broken scaphoid bone in his right wrist which will rule him out of action for at least a month.

Hobbs now faces a battle to get fit for when the series visits his home track of Croft circuit in just four weeks' time, otherwise it will be two years running that the four-times Laird of Croft will have ridden injured at the North Yorkshire track.

Last year, Hobbs suffered what was later diagnosed as a broken neck prior to the meeting in August, but still managed two podium finishes in the Superbike Cup class.

To add to his disappointment, it is likely he won't be able to compete at the British round of the World Superbike Championship which takes place at Silverstone the previous week, but it was better news at Oulton for two other local riders who impressed in front of another record crowd.

Knaresborough's Danny Linfoot continued his great early-season form by again finishing second in the 125GP race and winning the supporting ACU Academy Cup for the second weekend running. The 16-year-old led the race early on before being overhauled by defending British champion Christian Elkin in the latter stages to end up in third and second place in the respective championships.

Meanwhile, Paul Veazey from Middlesbrough was on the front row of the grid for the third time this season in the Superstock Cup and the Astro Kawasaki rider looked as if he was on for his first podium in a five-way battle for the lead. But the teenager just missed out as he finished in fourth place to move up to seventh in the standings.

Both Hobbs and Veazey will next be in action next at Croft on June 5, but prior to that Linfoot will make the trip across to Mondello Park in Ireland for the next round of the 125 series next weekend.

l Heighington's Guy Wilks has admitted that he was lucky to finish last weekend in the Rally of Sardinia, when he came home sixth to salvage three points in the Junior World Rally Championship.

The event immediately got off to a bad start for the Suzuki driver when he had a puncture in the first test, but worse was to come. On the second leg he was forced to stop on SS8 after breaking a lower track control arm because of the constant battering from the many sharp rocks.

Like his teammate, Per-Gunnar Andersson, who also had problems in the same test, he was at least able to re-join the rally on Sunday and get to the finish.

"This rally started off badly and got worse," said Wilks. "I had to stop and change a puncture on the very first stage, which meant that I had to push hard in order to get back up to sixth place. I was confident that we could improve further, but then the suspension broke and we had to stop. It was lucky that we were able to complete the final leg and score points, but I won't be taking any fond memories away from this rally."

* The GS Rally Team of Boldon's Gavin Spencer and co-driver Steve Waggett from Sedgefield had high hopes of a top ten Silkolene 1400cc finish on the recent Somerset Stages Rally, based in Minehead, as they strove to improve on their fourth in the BTRDA Championship.

But it wasn't to be as, when lying sixth in class after the first loop of four forest stages, they spun on the second Porlock stage and hit a tree. The crew managed to limp the car out of the stage and into service, but this resulted in them dropping to 20th in class.

A fine effort by the Bondisle Motorsport team from Stanhope ensured they could continue in the event and fighting their way back to 11th on only three short stages gave the crew chance of a top ten finish and a good points haul. But, after hitting a large rock on a blind bend, the car was pitched off the road and into a ditch.

Marshals did manage to assist the crew back on to the road, but the engine head gasket blew soon after and all they could do was limp back to the finish.

Even when the car expired 500m from the finish, the pair pushed the car over the line. This allowed them to finish the rally and the 17 championship points scored moved them up to third overall in the 1400cc Championship.

The next round is the Red Dragon Rally in Wales and, provided the car can be repaired and a new engine sourced, the crew should not have to sit on the sidelines.

* This weekend sees rounds five and six of the 2005 British F3 International Series visit Croft circuit for the first of three headline events this summer at the North Yorkshire track.

With a superb line-up of supporting races as well as the UK's premier single-seater championship, the two-day event promises to be an exciting spectacle for local fans, who will get the chance to see Grand Prix stars of the future in action.

With the previous rounds at Spa Francorchamps being cancelled due to bad weather, Brazilian Danilo Dirani leads the championship following a double victory at Donington Park last month, while Australian Barton Mawer heads the points standings in the National class for 2004 cars.

Harrogate's Charlie Hollings will be gunning for a local victory in the National class following his pole at Spa, while Swinton's Dan Clarke lies third in the Championship in the car part-owned by F1 star Kimi Raikonnen.

Joining in the action will be competitors in the British GT3 Championship and there will be plenty of local interest in the support classes, which include classes for the John Cooper Mini Challenge, UK Formula Ford Championship and AVO Ginetta Championship.

Leeds driver Stewart Linn is defending champion in the Ginetta series, but had a disaster at the opening round so will be looking to make amends as he hunts down series leader Matt Nicol-Jones. Keep an eye out too for local driver David Willoughby from Bishop Middleham.

Barnard Castle's Andrew Bentley is in action in the Formula Ford class, as is Hexham driver Linton Stutely, who also makes his debut in the series headed by Irishman Charlie Donnelly.

The John Cooper Mini Challenge will see Whitley Bay's Alan Taylor competing in the club class in the championship-winning car from last season, while Morpeth garage owner Arthur Forster heads the S class championship series following a win at Donington.

Tomorrow's action starts with qualifying from 9.15 with the first one-hour race for the British GT cars getting under way at 1.40. Thereafter races follow for the John Cooper Mini Challenge (3pm) and AVO Ginetta Championship (3.35) before a final qualifying session gets under way for the Formula Ford competitors at 4.10.

Sunday will see racing from noon with the first of the British F3 International Series races over 18 laps, with seven more races for the various classes during the afternoon.

Adult admission costs £10 tomorrow and £18 on Sunday with accompanied children aged 15 years and under admitted free, while grandstand seating costs an extra £7.