JUST ten weeks after breaking his leg and arm in a smash at Lydden, Northallerton rallycrosser Dave Bellerby made a sensational return to the sport when round five of the MSA British Rallycross Championship visited Croft circuit last weekend.

With his Motoscope Vauxhall Nova completely rebuilt after the Easter Monday crash at the Kent circuit, Bellerby took victory in the K&N Filters Super Modified final before posting an impressive sixth in the superfinal, just one place behind the returning Ferryhill driver Tony Bell in his Toyota Corolla WRC.

After a lengthy lay-off following a huge accident at Lydden last year, Bell took fourth in the A final as Dubliner Dermot Carnegie romped to victory for the fourth successive time in his Ford Focus WRC.

The battle for the overall lead in the BRDA Rallycross Championship remained deadlocked after Adrian Horsley, from Redcar, and Tynesider John Binks each took their fifth win of the year.

Yokohama Stock Hatch racer Horsley continued his unbeaten run in the competitive class, claiming his fifth win in as many championship events in his Citroen Saxo, while Binks, also unbeaten in 2004, retained the lead in the Yokohama Minicross series.

Other local drivers in action at Croft included Hartlepool's Des Wheatley, who failed to make the start of the Super Modified final when problems struck his Rover, but Scotch Corner ace Tony Bardy claimed a fifth and Yarm's Tony Saddington an eighth in their respective Peugeot 205s in the Stock Hatch final.

* More motor sport news on page 32.