Northallerton shopkeeper Darren Grimston took to the fast Yorkshire forests for the first time last weekend and very nearly came away with an award on the Wold Construction North Humberside Forests Rally.

Driving his newly-acquired Electrocare-backed Ford Escort Mk2, the 29-year-old ended up fourth in class in both the novice class and the over 2,000cc category after a day of high speed action in the forests around Pickering.

Co-driven by Martin Peel, also originally from Northallerton but who now lives in the Midlands, Grimston started off steadily with the opening runs through Gale Rigg and Cropton before attacking on the long Langdale stage.

A good time in SS4 (Dalby) preceded two improved runs through the final two stages to end up at the Hull finish in 70th overall.

Meanwhile, Boldon driver Gavin Spencer and his Sedgefield co-driver Steve Waggett maintained their fourth overall position in the Silkolene BTRDA 1400cc National Rally Series with another top ten finish in class.

The rally is famed for being the fastest in the series and, with the long straights on some of the stages, in particular Langdale, the crew had to push their Vauxhall Nova to the limit on the six special stages.

A fraught time prior to the event, with gearbox troubles during testing, meant the Bondisle Motorsport team from Stanhope only finished preparing the car on Friday morning. This meant the crew had to run with a standard gearbox, but despite this and a spin on the first Cropton stage, they finished tenth 1400 and 56th overall.

The pair face the long run down to Minehead in two weeks time for the next round of the championship, The Somerset Stages.

Other locals in action at the weekend included Northallerton's Ian Windress, who guided York driver Warren Philliskirk to second place overall in their MG Metro 6R4.

Topcliffe driver Tim Pearcey and co-driver Mick Johnson from Pickhill did well to bring their MSR-prepared Kerridge Mitsubishi Lancer home in 12th overall and third in class.

Redcar's Chris Roe guided driver Allan Richardson of Kirkbymoorside to 59th overall and ninth in class in their Vauxhall Nova, with James Bullock from Stokesley guiding Midlander Wayne Radford to 76th overall and sixth in class in their Peugeot.

Thirsk daughter and father team Amanda and Derek Cornforth brought their Ford Ka home in 87th place overall and 13th in class, five places behind the Bedale pairing of Nick Dale and Kevin Hare in their Talbot Sunbeam.

* Scotton sidecar racer Greg Lambert and passenger Martin Hull proved unstoppable as they powered their 1,000cc Suzuki to four superb wins at last weekend's Derby Phoenix MCC championship races held at Croft circuit.

While no other local competitor could muster a win, there was plenty of success in the various classes. Durham's David Ward took his 1,000cc Suzuki to ninth in the Allcomers A Final, with Redcar racer Paul Noble claiming a trio of top ten finishes on his 1,000cc Aprilia.

Michael Wainwright from Darlington took eighth in the Allcomers C Final on his 650cc Suzuki, with Nigel Wright, also from Darlington, claiming 12th in the Thunderbikes class.

Tony Thirkell from Rainton and passenger Roy King took a best result of eighth in the FSRA Super F2 sidecar series aboard the Equipe 600cc Honda, with the Darlington pairing of Ruth Laidlow and Lisel Amos finishing in 15th position on their Baker Yamaha.

Meanwhile, Darlington racer Richie Harrison continues to make good progress following the serious injuries he sustained at Brands Hatch over Easter. He has undergone further surgery this week in order to repair the damage to his hip and pelvis.

Harrison has now been transferred from Maidstone to St James' Hospital in Leeds and anyone wanting to send messages or cards can do so as follows: Richard Harrison, Ward 24, Chancellor Wine, St James' University Hospital, Leeds LS9 7TF.

* With a number of big race meetings scheduled for the summer at Croft, race fans can purchase tickets in advance. As well as guaranteeing entry, they also offer a huge saving on race day prices.

The increasingly popular Bennetts British Superbike Championship makes a return visit to Croft over the weekend of June 4 and 5. With a record 50,000 fans turning up for the opening round at Brands Hatch over Easter, demand for tickets is sure to be high, so pre-booking is highly recommended.

Adult admission costs £12 for Saturday in advance, while a Sunday ticket costs £20 and a weekend admission pass is priced at £25 in advance. Strictly limited grandstand tickets go on sale at £8 and more details can be found, along with booking details, at www.croftcircuit.co.uk or by calling the ticket hotline on 01325 721815. Bike season tickets costing £60 are also still available.

Details are also available for advance ticket purchases for the British F3 and GT Championship meeting on May 7 and 8 and the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship on July 16 and 17 via the above.

The second annual BSB charity soccer match will take place on the Friday night of the BSB meeting at Croft when a team from the media will again take on a Riders XI in Northallerton. Last year, more than £1,000 was raised for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and it is hoped to double that figure this year.

* Britain's Guy Wilks is hoping to get "stuck in" in New Zealand this weekend when Suzuki continue their campaign to contest all the events in the WRC as part of a learning programme ahead of a possible step up to the senior WRC in 2006.

Although New Zealand is not part of the Junior World Rally Championship, Wilks, from Heighington, is on a high after dominating the S1600 class in Mexico last month. While he has never been to New Zealand before, let alone taken part in the event, he is keen to keep the momentum going.

"It's another new event for me, but I can't wait to get stuck in. Aspects of New Zealand are meant to be quite similar to my home event, the Rally Great Britain, which is obviously a good thing from my point of view.

"The car is strong and my confidence is up after winning in Mexico, which was another new event for me. Now it's just a question of keeping the momentum and hopefully translating that into a top result", said the 24-year-old, who leads the Junior WRC.