DON'T expect any postcards from Sardinia from Darlington rally driver Guy Wilks.

The 24-year-old Suzuki driver had a trip to forget during this weekend's latest round of the Junior World Rally Championship.

The unusually hot and rough conditions over all three days of the rally decimated the field, with several high-profile retirements due to the rocky and abrasive gravel roads. Temperatures were much hotter than predicted, exceeding 30 degrees centigrade, while the sharp stones caused several punctures.

The action was fast and furious, with the newly developed Citroen C2 providing the toughest challenge for Wilks who had led the championship by a point going into the event.

After the opening day, however, Wilks had slipped from a podium position to sixth place and it didn't get any better on Saturday.

Wilks stopped on Special Stage 8 after breaking a lower track control arm because of the constant battering from the sharp rocks. Under new rules he was able to re-join the rally for the final day and although a podium finish was out of the question he ended up scoring a hard-earned three championship points.

"This rally started off badly and got worse!" he said last night. "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! Still, rallying is all about taking the rough with the smooth: literally in the case of Sardinia!"

Northern Ireland's Kris Meeke recovered from a late accident on Saturday to take the lead in the title chase thanks to his third place.

The Citroen driver was on course for victory when he incurred a five-minute penalty for failing to finish the last stage on the penultimate day but he fought back to claim a podium finish. Spain's Dani Sordo, also driving a Citroen won the JWRC event.

The championship situation is now incredibly close with the top four drivers from Citroen and Suzuki covered by just two points.

The next round of the Junior World Rally Championship is June's Acropolis Rally. However, Wilks and team-mate P-G Andersson will be back in action competing in class A6 on the Cyprus Rally from May 13-15.

In the main event Sebastien Loeb completed a dominant to steal the lead in the world championship.

Published: 02/05/2005