COUNTY Durham rally star Guy Wilks took a sensational victory in the second round of the Junior World Rally Championship in Mexico last weekend after leading from the start and setting 11 fastest class stage times out of a possible 14.

But the 24-year-old from Heighington, who finished 11th in the overall standings and now heads the junior drivers' championship, didn't have it all his own way.

Wilks and co-driver Phil Pugh had a scare leaving service before the start of the final day when their mechanics found it almost impossible to refit the sump guard because of the heavy battering it had taken during the previous day.

They picked up a two-and-a-half minute time penalty for leaving service late, but their lead was already more than ten minutes.

After that Wilks concentrated on bringing the Suzuki Ignis home safely without taking any risks on the final two stages. He eventually won by more than nine minutes, but was relieved at the finish.

He said: "This rally was even more difficult than I expected and one of the biggest problems was the inconsistency of grip, meaning that it was very easy to make a mistake. It's been a very punishing event for the car, but our car has been incredibly reliable and superbly strong."

Wilks leads the JWRC by a single point ahead of team-mate and defending world champion Per Gunnar Andersson going into the next round at Rally Sardinia next month, although the Suzuki pairing will be in action in the Rally of New Zealand before then in order to gain some experience.

Wilks added: "I'm absolutely delighted to be leading the championship, and my plan is to keep it that way."

l For the second time in as many weeks, Leeming rally driver Kevin Procter and co-driver Mike Gilby from Northallerton took victory by more than a minute when they won last Sunday's Alternative Sign Centre Robin Hood Stages Rally based near Mansfield.

Driving the Motoscope Ford Puma Evo 4x4, the pair followed up their success on the recent Lookout Stages Rally with another win in Sherwood Forest, this time by a minute and seven seconds over the Mitsubishi of local aces Chris and Roger Bown after setting fastest times on all of the ten stages which comprised the 45-mile event.

Team-mates David Brown from Thimbleby and co-driver Plug Pullen from Easingwold put in a late entry and eventually brought their Steel River-backed car home fifth overall for a class win, while Guisborough's Dave Craven and co-driver Ian Jackson from Hartburn finished 13th overall in their NSS Mitsubishi.

Ripon's James Bullock guided driver Wayne Radford to 47th place overall and ninth in class in their Peugeot 205, with the Bedale pairing of Nick Dale and Kevin Hare claiming 54th overall and 12th in class in their Talbot Sunbeam.

In the historic section, Ripon driver John Parker took his and co-driver Rob Harrison's Saab 96 Sport to 15th overall and a class win, while Aiskew motor dealer Bryan Gill and co-driver Nigel Hutchinson from Easingwold clinched 11th overall and second in class in the classic segment in their Opel Kadett.

However, former top national driver Pete Slights from York and co-driver Joyce Champion from Castleton claimed a class victory on their way to fourth overall in the classic field in their Ford Escort, with Topcliffe driver Duncan Pearcey and co-driver Mick Johnson from Pickhill ending up in second place in the trophy rally in their venerable Datsun 240.

* Round two of the 2005 MSA National Gravel Rally Championship takes place tomorrow as competitors from all over the country head for the quaint Scottish borders town of Jedburgh for the Brick and Steel Border Counties Rally.

This is the first time that the event has been incorporated into the ANCRO series and the organising clubs - Hawick and Border Car Club and Whickham and District Motor Club - have gained a reputation for running a good rally over the infamous and unique forest tracks of Kielder, which also forms part of the County Saab Scottish Rally Championship.

Following on from an exciting and dramatic opening round on Rallye Sunseeker last month, the leading protagonists will again be battling it out for supremacy on the most northern round of the seven-rally series.

Shildon's Barry Johnson will lead the 120 competitors away from the start and the former Scottish champion has already got a victory under his belt north of the border this year by winning the Snowman Rally last month.

The County Durham driver suffered transmission problems in his Barrier Surveillance Subaru WRC on round one, leaving him in seventh, but his knowledge of the northern stages will prove invaluable.

Ryan Champion from Castleton will be hoping to put the disappointment of retirement on the opening round behind him as he goes in search of Mitsubishi Evo Challenge points.

Topcliffe's Tim Pearcey and co-driver Mick Johnson from Pickhill also didn't see the finish ramp in their similar car last time out and they too will be looking to make amends.

Youngsters Tristan Pye from Bishop Auckland and Scorton driver Stephen Petch will square off in their respective Subarus, while other locals in action include Morton on Swale's Charlie Taylor (Ford Escort) and Durham driver Garry Johnson (Open Corsa) in the clubman's section.

Co-drivers Ian Windress from Northallerton and Mike Wilkinson from Tow Law will also be competing, but despite being entered, Scorton's Steve Petch and Northallerton co-driver John Richardson look as if they will not be in action in their SGP Hyundai Accent.

The first of the 120 crews leaves Abbey Place in Jedburgh at 8.30am with cars scheduled to return for a ceremonial finish at about 5pm, with prize-giving from 7.30 onwards. There are a number of stages where spectators can view the action and these can be found by logging on to the event's official web site www.bordercountiesrally.co.uk.

l Following the cancellation of the proposed rallycross meeting earlier in the month due to the inclement weather, the 2005 racing season finally gets under way at Croft circuit near Darlington this weekend with the opening round of the North East Motorcycle Racing Club Championship.

With more than 150 solo competitors and no less than 30 sidecar crews set to take part, the action is sure to be plentiful in the various classes throughout the weekend, which culminates with the 15-lap battle for the Laird of Croft title on Sunday.

A full race card is scheduled for both tomorrow and Sunday, with adult admission costing £10 per day and accompanied children under 15 admitted free.

Practice gets under way at 9pm tomorrow and more details are available from Croft on 01325 721 815 or www.croftcircuit.co.uk.