Rival's late surge steals victory from Johnson

Driving the ex-Petter Solberg world championship-winning Subaru WRC, 2002 champion Johnson took maximum advantage as his fellow Subaru driver Munro struggled early on.

Going into the final stage, the Englishman held an eight-second advantage over Munro with just the 5.32 miles of Fetteresso 2 to traverse.

But, despite storming through the stage and thinking he had done enough to secure victory on round three of the series, Johnson was amazed to see that Munro had taken 15 seconds out of him and had to admit defeat.

"I honestly don't know how Raymond did it," the shell-shocked Shildon driver admitted. "I felt we were full-on right through the last stage and I honestly can't believe he managed to take 15 seconds out of me.

"All I can do is hold my hands up and admit I was beaten by a better man on the day. Raymond said before the event he would have to lift his game if he was to beat me, and today he's certainly done that. Hat's off to him".

Team-mate Tristan Pye, from Bishop Auckland, brought his JPM Subaru home in 27th place overall and tenth in class.

The next round of the championship is the RSAC Scottish Rally, which takes place in Dumfries on June 13.

* Northallerton road racer Darren Grimston overcame treacherous conditions to record a superb hat-trick of victories at a rain-lashed Elvington Park, near York, last weekend.

Riding the Electrocare Ducati 996, the 28-year-old shopkeeper and part-time rally driver battled against a class field as well as the weather to record his first ever triple.

In doing so, he shot to the head of the Auto 66 Club Sound of Thunder Championship with a lead of nine points.

Following a second place finish a week earlier at the Carnaby Two circuit, near Beverley, Grimston hopes to continue his good early-season form in his next outing at the Oliver's Mount circuit at Scarborough.

He goes in search of his first win around the closed-roads track high above the Yorkshire resort's South Bay during next weekend's bank holiday.

* Yafforth rallycross driver Dave Bellerby is in hospital recovering from serious injuries sustained in round three of the BRDA Championship at Lydden Hill over Easter.

The 39-year-old property developer crashed his Motoscope-supported Vauxhall Nova as he exited the high-speed Chesson's Drift section of the Kent track, resulting in a broken leg and arm.

Bellerby was in hospital in Canterbury until last weekend before being transferred to Northallerton's Friarage Hospital.

The accident was caused by a broken CV joint and wheel bearing, which caused his Super Modified class car to veer into the barriers. It then rebounded on its side into the path of another competitor, who smashed into the stationary car.

The roof, safety cage and A post took most of the impact as there was very little damage from the initial roll, but the car, in which Bellerby has enjoyed much success, is likely to be beyond repair.

* The normally tranquil forests of the North Tyne valley will reverberate to the sound of high-speed action this weekend as the North-East hosts the opening round of the Kwik Fit Pirelli British Rally Championship.

The country's premier rally championship will bring some of the world's top drivers to the area to fight it out over two days of flat-out competition on the Gateshead-based event.

With no town centre spectator stage this year, the main action takes place some 40 miles away over the twisty, undulating gravel tracks of the giant Kielder Forest complex, where the blind brows and deceptive bends are waiting to catch out the unwary.

Heading the entry are double British champions Jonny Milner, from Driffield, and co-driver Nicky Beech, who are going for a record-breaking third successive title.

The pair have never won in Kielder, but were in the top three places on every round last year and have a new Subaru WRC with which to mount their challenge.

Milner faces several stern challenges, not least from David Higgins and Chris Wood - the SCCA USA champion out in a Hyundai Accent WRC hired from local motor dealer Steve Petch - and multiple Irish champion Austin McHale in his Toyota Corolla.

Yorkshireman Alistair Ginley returns to the PBRC with a Subaru Impreza WRC, while Shildon's Barry Johnson is another runner capable of victory in his Subaru WRC.

Malcolm Wilson's son, Matthew, makes his international debut on the rally which first shot his father to prominence, while Wilson's M-Sport team-mates include a pair of Ford Focus WRCs in the hands of Paul Bird (Penrith) and Chesterfield's Steve Perez, both of whom are in with a shout of victory.

Castleton's Ryan Champion has enlisted Ulsterman Glenn Patterson to co-drive in the Group N Mitsubishi Lancer as he aims to better his seventh place overall on the event.

The 28-year-old, who drove for the Ford Junior Team last year, will use the same Champion Rallysport Lancer Evolution in which he won the Kall Kwik National Rally in February and is looking forward to the event despite uncertainty surrounding his plans for the rest of the year.

Behind the front-runners, there is a mouth-watering battle in prospect in the Super 1600 category, where Heighington's Guy Wilks debuts the Dealer Team Suzuki Ignis.

Amazingly, the 23-year-old Junior World Rally Championship driver led the event in his Ford Puma last year before crashing out within sight of the finish and, having already won in Kielder earlier in the year, Wilks and Welsh co-driver Phil Pugh are confident of success.

Also in action will be Great Broughton's Jonny Brown, along with Northallerton co-driver Ian Windress, in their 1600cc Ford Puma, while the County Durham pairing of Stephen Petch and Michael Wilkinson will also be hoping to do well on their local event.

Adding a truly international flavour to the two-day event are a number of foreign entries in the S1600 class, including Italian Fiat Punto Abarth driver Alessandro Broccoli and Welsh team-mate Leon Pesticcio, Zimbabwean Conrad Rautenbach, who will drive the Team Birkbeck Ford Puma, and Finland's Aki Teiskonen out in a Citroen Saxo.

A trio of Renault Clios will see Welshmen Simon Hughes and Gareth Jones compete against York's Olly Marshall, while veteran Steve Hill will drive his unique Alfa Romeo and Scotsman Barry Clark will be hoping for success in his Ford Puma.

Swedish model Jenni-Lee Hermansson will have the not-quite-so-photogenic Howard Davies for company in her Subaru and they will be battling it out with the Mitsubishi of Scottish ladies champion Lorna Smith and her co-driver Dave Robson. Kate Heath, along with husband Paul, will represent English interest, replacing their trusty Seat with a Subaru.

The rally also sees the inaugural round of the Fiat Stilo Cup series and the distinctive yellow, Italian-built machines are a welcome addition to the championship ranks.

Battling it out on this opening round will be the likes of Shaun Woffinden, Joan Roca, Paul Tod, Willie Bonniwell, Tom Metcalfe and Chris Davies.

The Pirelli International Rally starts from Gateshead's Baltic Square tonight, with the first car leaving the start ramp at 7.30. There will be a full commentary and driver interviews as the cars set off and ample opportunity for spectators and rally enthusiasts to see the cars prior to the crews venturing off to the forests.

All of the competitive action takes place in Kielder Forest and parking facilities, courtesy of Forest Enterprise, will be clearly signposted.

Programmes will be on sale locally, giving a full entry list and details of where to see the action. On day two of the rally, there is also the opportunity to visit the service area at Hexham Auction Mart and see the cars being worked on.

The rally finish, complete with the traditional champagne spraying, is back at Baltic Square, with the first car scheduled to arrive at 7pm.