CASTLETON'S Ryan Champion and co-driver Craig Thorley from York continue to lead the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge with just two rounds remaining, despite having a difficult Swansea Bay Rally at the weekend.

The 30-year-old Yorkshireman started the Welsh event with the championship in mind, knowing that it was more important to come away with a good points finish rather than risking everything to win.

However, on the very first stage that strategy was thrown off course when a fuel pump problem cost Champion 45 seconds.

This was compounded on the next stage when the pair caught title rival Nik Elsmore cruising through the stage with transmission problems.

The conditions were so dry and dusty that Champion could not get anywhere near to the troubled Mitsubishi in front to try and get past and in fact had to keep stopping just to see the road ahead. By the time they reached the end of the stage another five miles on, Champion had dropped another 40 seconds behind his other championship rivals, Stuart Jones and Phillip Morrow.

Now very much at the bottom end of the Mitsubishi runners, Champion knew he had to push hard over the remaining five stages in order to climb as far back up the order as possible to salvage as many points as he could in the title battle. Three fastest times and two second fastest times showed what might have been and amazingly Champion ended the event as fourth Mitsubishi contender.

"I'm relieved to get back up to fourth after the problems we had, " he said. "From a Evo Championship point of view I would have been happy with a top three finish but as it was we had to try pretty hard just to finish fourth!"

The penultimate round of the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge, the Park Systems Rally, takes place in the Galloway Forests in south west Scotland on September 10.

Published: 29/07/2005