AFTER waiting ten years for his maiden rally victory, former British Rallycross champion Tony Bardy followed up his win on last year's Jack Frost Stages Rally by dominating this year's Darlington and District Motor Club event held at Croft last Saturday.

Driving the Nissan Sunny GTI-R, the Scotch Corner driver was rarely troubled, leading from start to finish as he gradually built an advantage in the mild conditions.

Along with co-driver Reg Smith, from Richmond, he set fastest times on the opening six tests before throttling back in the darkness to ensure he retained the title.

While Bardy was away with it at the front, the battle for second was intense, with only a handful of seconds between the main protagonists throughout the day.

Once Tynesiders George Grieve and Stephen Robson had exited with a blown engine on their Ford Escort Cosworth, it was left to a scrap between the MGZR of Martin Farrar and Andrew Ward, the Colman brothers from Saltburn in their Nissan Sunny GTI-R and Stockton's Keith Davison and co-driver Ian Jackson from Hartburn in the Darrian.

Going into the final stage in the wet and the dark, Farrar and Colman couldn't be separated, with Davison three seconds further adrift and still all to play for.

With York driver Andy Bird and co-driver Plug Pulleyn from Easingwold fastest on the final two tests, Bardy trundled round to secure victory by 37 seconds as Farrar did enough to clinch the runner-up spot.

Davison suffered with two-wheel drive in the wet and a grass-tracking excursion also meant he had to settle for third, but disaster struck for Colman. He endured two big spins which relegated him to sixth as the Subaru of Ripon crew Paul Walker and Nigel Bennett snatched fourth ahead of Bird in fifth.

Scotsmen Ricky Wheeler and Gordon Thompson and Northallerton's Dave Bellerby and debutante co-driver Tom Cardie from Bedale were seventh and eighth respectively in their Ford Escorts, with the Mitsubishi Lancer of Alan Millard and Mandi Huntington claiming ninth.

Despite damaging a door and losing a window, Eggleston driver Alistair Hutchinson and co-driver St John Dykes from Barnard Castle completed the top ten after some spirited driving in their LPG-powered Renault Clio.

There was plenty of other local interest on the event, whose organisers did a sterling job of fitting in the full eight stages during the day.

Teessider Stephen Alderdice and co-driver Dean Grabham brought their Ford Sierra Cosworth home 11th overall, with the County Durham pairing of John Jackson and Arthur Fenwick a place further back in their Ford Escort.

Hamsterley's Stephen Petch and co-driver Michael Wilkinson from Tow Law enjoyed a rare four-wheel drive tarmac outing in the Richie Windress-prepared SGP Motorsport Subaru Impreza and claimed 15th overall, while Stockton's Terry Clarke and co-driver Kevin Garthwaite finished 23rd in their Mitsubishi Lancer.

Middlesbrough optician David Stockton and co-driver Chris Purvis brought their Specsavers Subaru home in 24th overall, four places ahead of fellow Teessiders Brian Morris and Mark Leybourne in their historic Datsun 240Z. They claimed second in class for their efforts.

Gilling West driver Terry Searle and co-driver Paul Swift from Darlington finished 29th in their Rover 25, with Steve Williams and Anouska Swales from Great Langton ending up 38th overall in their Rover Metro.

Bishop Auckland market gardeners Ian and Andrew Legge clinched 47th overall in their venerable Ford Escort Mk1, with the Birtley pairing of Shaun and Rob Skeoch finishing 49th in their Subaru Impreza.

Northallerton shopkeeper Darren Grimston ended up 52nd overall and sixth in class after an eventful day in the CS Rallysport Ford Escort, while the Bedale crew of Nick Dale and Kevin Hare claimed 54th in their Talbot Sunbeam.

County Durham's Garry Johnson and Phil Bond (Vauxhall Corsa) finished the day 58th overall, two places ahead of the Pickhill Engineering Peugeot 106 of Pickhill residents Bill Bates and Mick Johnson.

Rally debutantes Martin Peel from Danby Wiske and co-driver Nick Dale from Brompton on Swale enjoyed a battle with Middlesbrough's ex-bike racer Kevin Liddle and co-driver James Bullock from Ripon in their CS Rallysport cars.

Former circuit racer Peel was challenging for a top 50 place in the 1600cc Escort, but problems on the final stage relegated him to 65th overall, while Liddle brought the Peugeot 106 home 67th overall.

Just 12 of the 80 cars which started the event were forced to retire. They included Evenwood's Mark Thompson and co-driver Giles Dykes from Barnard Castle, who suffered camshaft failure in their Peugeot 206 when well placed on the penultimate stage.

The Darlington crew of David Jones and David Cox were outside total lateness at the finish in their Mitsubishi, while the Vauxhall Corsa of Teesside pairing Lee Strike and Mike Scrimgour retired with engine problems on SS6.

Shortest rally of the day belonged to Ingleby Barwick driver Jim Kirwin and co-driver Martin Calkin, whose Toyota Corolla expired just a few yards into SS1.

Top ten: 1 T Bardy/R Smith, Nissan Sunny GTI-R, 37min 39sec; 2 M Farrar/A Ward, MGZR S1600, 38.16; 3 K Davison/I Jackson, Darrian T90, 38.33; 4 P Walker/N Bennett, Subaru Impreza, 38.35; 5 A Bird/P Pulleyn, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6, 38.38; 6 I Colman/N Colman, Nissan Sunny GTI-R, 38.38; 7 R Wheeler/G Thompson, Ford Escort Mk2, 38.52; 8 D Bellerby/T Cardie, Ford Escort Mk2, 39.13; 9 A Millard/M Huntington, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4, 39.38; 10 A Hutchinson/St John Dykes, Renault Clio Sport, 39.39.

* The organisers of the North Humberside Forest Rally have concluded a sponsorship arrangement for their event with Beverley-based civil engineering company Wold Construction Ltd.

The Wold Construction North Humberside Forest Rally, as it will be known for at least the next three years, is based once again at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel in Willerby, near Hull, and takes place on Saturday, April 2 utilising the forests around Scarborough and Pickering.

It is a qualifying round for a number of major UK rally championships, including the BTRDA Gold Star, for which it was recently voted best event in 2004.

Wold Construction have sponsored a variety of sporting events in the past, but this is their first foray into motor sport. Regulations for the rally will be available at the beginning of February.