Northallerton driver Dave Bellerby maintained his 100pc record in the ANECCC Winter Rallycross Championship by winning the second round at a cold and snowy Croft circuit last weekend.

Driving the Motoscope-backed Vauxhall Nova, Bellerby romped to victory in all three heats to secure pole position for the A final.

He led from the off, but Bishop Middleham's Michael Bourner was less fortunate when a first corner collision left his Renault 5 deposited firmly in a gravel trap.

Bellerby eased away to a comfortable win, with Houghton le Spring driver Lance Foster performing heroics in the Green and White Spares Mini to claim third and, very nearly, second place.

Hartlepool's Des Wheatley (Rover Metro) and David Binks from Gosforth were expecting to challenge Bellerby for Modified class honours, but both suffered problems during practice.

Binks had an early off in his new Mini, causing the rear suspension to collapse, while Wheatley suffered from fuel pick up problems and managed only two laps of his opening race before being forced to retire.

Championship leader going into round two, Adrian Horsley had a fraught day in his Stock Hatch Citroen Saxo.

The Redcar man was leading the first heat very comfortably until he clipped the tyres on the inside of Hawthorn, bringing his car to a dramatic standstill and removing the front bumper in the process.

Horsley made it out for the third heat, but with only one finish to his name he was left down in the E final with his title aspirations looking bleak.

However, an amazing display saw Horsley win the E final before claiming victories in both the D and C finals to put himself within a race of the all-important A final.

Horsley made the perfect start in the B final, gaining five places on the run down to the first corner, but a tangle saw the Saxo tipped into a 360-degree spin before he found himself pointing the right way, still in fourth place overall.

Berwickshire driver John Straughan had made his escape at the front of the race as Horsley moved through into second position, leaving the Redcar driver with a gap of about four seconds to close down in two laps.

Try as he might, Horsley just ran out of time, finishing less than half a second behind Straughan in a dramatic encounter.

Ferryhill's David Bell, son of top rallycrosser Tony Bell, put in a superb display on his debut in the sport. The youngster hauled his newly-built Mini around the wet and slippery Croft circuit, impressing onlookers in the process.

With one round remaining in the ANECCC Rallycross Championship and due to the complex points-scoring system, Horsley has now extended his overall championship lead to 15 points over Bellerby.

Foster moves up into third place in the championship standings, with Sunderland driver Jon Olds and Gary Dixon (Lincoln) in a tie for fourth place.

Borrowby's Brian Thornton (Metro) and Great Ayton driver Ian Horn (Nova) also added to their points tally going into the final round at Blyton on March 21.

* Scorton driver Steve Petch and co-driver John Richardson from Northallerton got their 2004 Kumho Tyres National Rally Championship campaign off to a great start with a resounding third place overall on last weekend's Rallye Sunseeker, based in Bournemouth.

Having retired from their previous two events, the Hyundai Accent WRC pairing looked to be in trouble again when a puncture on the Friday night spectator stage dropped them down the order. But some spirited driving amidst the ice and snow-packed stages of Saturday lifted them up the order.

At the finish ramp on Bournemouth sea front, Petch claimed third, just over eight seconds down on the rally winner after nearly one and a quarter hours of competition.

There were mixed fortunes for the region's other competitors on the event, including Shildon's Barry Johnson, who was making his debut on the south coast's premier rally.

The JPM Subaru driver was lying inside the top five going into the final loop of stages when engine failure robbed him of a decent finish.

There was better news for Ingleton driver Tony Thompson and co-driver Ian Windress from Northallerton, who got their Mitsubishi Lancer Challenge bid off to a good start with a top 20 placing overall.

The MSR Tidybike-sponsored pair battled against nearly 40 other identical cars to end up tenth in class.

Hamsterley's Stephen Petch and co-driver Michael Wilkinson also recorded solid points in the opening round of the Peugeot 206 Cup after a couple of recent traumatic outings.

Despite a few problems, including broken suspension and gear linkage, the pair battled to 61st overall and eighth in class.

Nunnington driver Martyn Harrison was inside the top three on Friday night, but a damaged radiator forced his MG Metro 6R4 out on Saturday's opening stage.

* Round two of the BTRDA Rally Championship heads north tomorrow when the Malcolm Wilson Rally takes place in the Lake District and, with a number of local drivers heading for Cockermouth, the action is bound to be frantic.

Former winners Steve Petch and John Richardson start at number one in their SGP Hyundai Accent WRC and, although they are not contesting the series, they are among the favourites for another win.

However, they will face stiff opposition from many quarters, including Leeming driver Kevin Procter and Northallerton co-driver Mick Gilby.

In the opening round three weeks ago, the Motoscope Subaru pairing finished a creditable sixth overall and should go well on the twisty Lakeland stages to consolidate their championship bid.

Pickhill's Matt Yeadon and co-driver Richard Shores from Boltby will be out in their Nu Era DSM Mitsubishi after a great result on the recent Riponian Rally, as will Morton on Swale driver Charlie Taylor in his Ford Escort, himself a former winner of the event.

West Rounton driver Chris Blake and co-driver Tony Walker from Richmond will be out in their NTB Ford Escort despite a lowly seeding of 77, while the Darlington-based CS Automotive team of Geoff Whittaker and Sheila Thompson will be out in their Ian Cartwright-prepared Ford Escort.

Spectator information. - Start: Cockermouth 9am; SS1: Hobcarton 1 9.20; SS2 Comb 1 9.30; SS3: Wythop 1 9.50; SS4: Grizedale South 11.40; SS5: Grizedale North 12.05; SS6: Hobcarton 2 2pm; SS7: Comb 2 2.15; SS8: Wythop 2 2.30; Finish: Cockermouth 3pm.

Top ten entries. - 1 S Petch/J Richardson, Hyundai Accent WRC; 2 B Bell/P Spooner, Ford Focus WRC; 3 G Middleton/J Morgan, Hyundai Accent WRC; 4 S Gardener/D Brick, Mitsubishi Lancer; 5 S Perez/N Dashfield, Ford Focus WRC; 6 J Perrott/G Hopewell, Mitsubishi Lancer; 7 P Bird/A Dugdale, Ford Focus WRC; 8 D Cole/T Sturla, Subaru Impreza; 9 T Bengry/L Forsbrook, Ford Focus WRC; 10 K Procter/M Gilby, Subaru Impreza.