SCOTCH Corner car preparation specialist Tony Bardy returned to competitive rallying for the first time this year with a fine top ten placing on the punishing 34th Philips Tour of Mull last weekend.

He and co-driver Reg Smith were placed eighth overall in their Nissan Sunny GTI-R, but the event was overshadowed by the death of Scottish co-driver Susan Cameron.

She was competing in a Peugeot 205 driven by her husband Duncan and it was only on his specific request that the rally continued in sombre mood.

Bardy, who suffered a puncture early on and lost time stopping to change the errant tyre, also had to overcome turbo problems in the later stages. He did well to climb the leaderboard and claim fourth in class.

Easingwold's Pat Johnson and York co-driver Graham Harper also had to overcome brake and tyre problems in their Subaru, but ended up 11th overall on their way to sixth in class.

Saltburn brothers Ian and Neil Colman couldn't quite manage a repeat of their fine sixth place overall on last year's event and had to settle for 14th overall and eighth in class this time around in their Nissan Sunny, while Bishop Auckland's Tristan Pye and Scottish co-driver Roger Herron had to overcome their lowly seeding of 90 to emerge 21st overall and fourth in class in their JPM Subaru.

Appleby driver Dougie Hall crashed on the opening stage for the second year in succession, but bounced back to win the Trophy Rally with some impressive times in his Mitsubishi Lancer.

* Darlington driver Paul Swift has been picked by the England team to drive in this weekend's Ken Wharton International Autotest.

Swift will represent his country in the specials class in the 47th running of the event at Evesham in Warwickshire, where 30 top drivers from England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will be in action.

Each country will be represented in four categories, including minis, sports cars, large saloons and mini specials.

The England call came a little unexpectedly for Swift as he has spent the year competing in rallying's Peugeot 206 Super Cup, but a one off Autotest in August proved to the team captain he was up to the job by taking first overall at the British Championship event held in Hartlepool.

He said: "It's fantastic to be picked for the team this year as I have spent very little time in the car, but I'm sure the experience I gained in the rallying certainly won't have done me any harm.

"I'm really looking forward to the event and hopefully we can bring home some silverware".

The event, which concludes this year's British Autotest Championship, is due to be screened on Sky Sports in late November.

* Road racer Jonathan Harrison kept his Sound of Thunder title hopes alive after a dramatic weekend at Elvington Park near York.

The Darlington rider went into the penultimate round of the Auto 66 Club's championship needing a string of good placings over the weekend to ensure he was in a good position to clinch the title at this weekend's Carnaby Two finale.

He did just that with a consistent performance aboard the radical Adrenalin Moto-backed Buell Firebolt.

A couple of mistakes early on in the opening race thwarted Harrison's chances of success, but he battled back to fourth place at the flag before following up with a very close third place in the second leg of the day.

Race three saw the American-built machine up against the more powerful Ducatis and Aprilias once again, but Harrison showed his class to elevate himself to second place at the end of the ten laps.

Harrison leads the championship by just two points, but has the added advantage of being able to play his joker, meaning all he has to do is keep within sight of the leaders in each race and the championship is there for the taking.

In the open class race, Harrison took to the saddle of brother Richard's Yamaha R1 and took a well deserved fourth place in the first outing before following up with an impressive sixth in the 15-lap feature race.

l Thirsk and District Motor Club held their annual White Horse Enduro last weekend, which comprised the final round of the North of England Enduro championship sponsored by Bikesport Newcastle.

A total of 111 riders started the event in Silton forest on going which was a lot faster than usual as the White Horse has a reputation for being particularly tough and wet.

Check times were tightened up as the day went on, but the going continued to become quicker as the riders competed on a number of tests.

Championship leader Neil Boyd from Redcar was in command and looking good for victory up until the final test when he crashed heavily, causing the stage to be cancelled.

Boyd's misfortune handed the championship to Chester le Street rider Kyle Deswert, although no-one could catch newcomer Richard Copsey from Ripon, who took the victory in the experts class on only his second enduro.

Keswick rider Conrad Slack won the clubman's class to round off an excellent season for him, while Northallerton's Paul Watson claimed runner-up spot in the championship class.

* The final round of the Kumho Tyres National Rally Championship takes place in mid-Wales tomorrow with a number of local crews hoping to round off the season in style on the Shrewsbury-based Bulldog Rally.

After an opening stage retirement on the previous round in Scotland, when they were forced off the road while avoiding a broken down competitor, Scorton driver Steve Petch and co-driver John Richardson from Northallerton will be hoping for better luck in their SGP Hyundai Accent WRC.

While not a championship contender, Shildon's Barry Johnson and co-driver Stewart Merry are on a good run of form in their Subaru WRC and will be hoping to continue that after a win a couple of months ago in the region.

Martyn Harrison from Helmsley will be out in his MG Metro 6R4 in a bid to climb the championship table, while Darlington's Tony Thompson and co-driver Ian Windress from Northallerton will be doing likewise in their Mitsubishi.

Durham driver Stephen Petch junior will be looking for a class victory in his Ford Ka along with co-driver Michael Wilkinson from Tow Law after a good showing in recent months.

* Speedway fans in the region are in for a treat on Tuesday night when a number of the sport's top riders descend on Northallerton to take part in another chat show organised by the North Yorkshire Road Racing Supporters Club.

Heading the cast at Elders Bar will be former world champion Gary Havelock, who now rides for Peterborough Panthers.

'Havvy', originally from Yarm, won the sport's most prestigious title back in 1992 and is widely acclaimed as the country's most successful rider in speedway history.

Joining Havelock on stage will be Hull Vikings star Simon Cartwright, while the third member of the panel will be local star Richard Hall from Aiskew, who currently features in the Sheffield Conference League.

The show gets under way at 8pm with admission costing just £2 for non-members and as usual there will be the opportunity to win exclusive prizes in the raffle.

More details are available from Sue Symons on 01904 339647