FOLLOWING victories at the North of England and NASA finals in recent months, Catterick Village driver Martyn Tinker added the British Autograss Series title to his list of successes in 2001 after taking a dramatic win in the finals held at the Lincoln Showground circuit last weekend.

Driving the rapid MAN Transmissions 2.4 litre Millington-engined Renault Clio, with backing from K&N Filters, Tinker had to come from last to first to clinch the win, and then only after the class seven final had been restarted no less than six times due to incidents and accidents.

The meeting was the culmination of a five-round nation-wide series which had seen Tinker and the other top British Autograss racers compete in 20 races around the country during the summer.

After a good run through the heats, which saw him post two wins and a fourth place, Tinker easily qualified for the final.

But after last month's NASA contest at Rushyford, where he took a bruising victory, he knew it would be a hard-fought affair, and so it proved.

With the top eight drivers determined to wrest the coveted victory, Tinker knew he had to finish no lower than third to clinch the title, but his cause wasn't helped when he made a poor start in the seventh attempt at the eight-lap race.

But despite the dust and dry surface, Tinker gradually fought his way through the bumping and barging field as he put the 300bhp of his four cylinder fuel-injected car to good use. He eventually edged past reigning national champion Mark Griffiths to claim a memorable win.

As a result of his victory, which means he is the undisputed best class seven driver in the country, Tinker has been invited to take part yet again in the Autosports International Thunderdrome event at the NEC in Birmingham over the winter.

It will be the fourth time Tinker has had the honour and he plans on repanelling his car prior to the event after the rigours of the season's competition.

l Durham driver David Henderson and his co-driver Ian Windress, from Northallerton, stormed to a magnificent win on the Kumho Scottish National B Rally last weekend.

His success re-ignited the battle for the Ferodo Ford Puma 1400 Championship after main rival Guy Wilks, from Heighington, could only manage third place.

Henderson put aside his woes on the last event to enjoy a relatively trouble-free run through the forests around Dumfries in his Breakdown Doctor-backed car.

But 19-year-old Wilks and his Welsh co-driver Clive Jenkins endured a frustrating day in the Valvolene Puma, which included dropping three minutes on the opening stage when a brake caliper broke.

With Henderson disputing the lead with Lincoln's Shaun Woffinden, Wilks couldn't make up the dropped time and had to settle for third place at the finish, which was good enough to hold onto his championship lead.

Henderson's win puts him within one point of Wilks with just two rounds remaining, the next being the Rally of Oxford in three weeks time.

The main event saw a number of local competitors in action over the two days and most returned from Scotland with awards despite varying fortunes.

With the rally incorporating the fifth round of the Peugeot Super 106 Cup, Castleton driver Ryan Champion once again showed his speed north of the border to clinch a battling runner-up placing, despite a faulty fuel pump which cost the 26-year-old and his Gloucester co-diver Cliff Simmons a minute.

Champion managed to lead the event on day one until the mystery electrical problem on the Total Quartz-backed car dropped them down to third overnight.

But a big push, combined with one of his rivals rolling out of the event, meant Champion clinched second place in class and an amazing eighth place overall, which was enough to move him up to third in the overall standings with just two rounds remaining.

One place behind Champion in ninth overall was the Barrier Surveillance Subaru of Shildon's Barry Johnson and his co-driver Peter Croft, from Middleton Tyas.

The pair had problems on day two, which included incurring over a minute of road penalties, but they hung on to claim second place in class.

Northallerton co-driver John Richardson was sitting alongside local ace Jock Armstrong in the Mark Robson-prepared MSR Mitsubishi and the pair were up to fourth overall until they broke a wheel on stage five which cost them over 11 minutes and effectively ended their challenge.

A big push through the second day's stages saw them set two fastest times, but all the time they had gained back was lost when they punctured on the final stage. Despite their problems, they hung on to claim victory in Group N.

One local crew out of luck were Richmond brothers Mark and Andy Constantine who retired from the event after snapping a driveshaft on their WA Browne-backed Nova just five miles into the opening stage.

Sunday also saw the Clubman's event taking place. Thirsk builder Ian Rudd, driving a Sapphire Cosworth, ended up second in class and fifth overall just one place behind Pickering's Steve Magson driving an Astra RWD.

l Hutton Rudby rider Russ Hodgson, 20, came close to scoring his first ever British Championship rostrum with a brilliant performance in the 125cc event at Mallory Park last Sunday, but ended up in fifth place.

Hodgson had managed to qualify the Tillston's Honda in second place on the grid, but a poor start saw him back in sixth in the opening laps.

But the electrical salesman stuck to the task and was dicing with the leading bunch until being squeezed out on the final couple of corners.

But he held on to claim another 11 points and move up to tenth in the championship table.

Darlington's Mark Burr recorded his best results of the year with a pair of rostrum finishes aboard the Hawk Racing 750cc Kawasaki in the Privateers Superbike Championship.

The 20-year-old - part sponsored by Mallory Park - followed up a second place in race one with a third in race two to move up to seventh overall in the standings.

Leyburn rider James Brackenbury finished 20th in the junior race.