DARLINGTON'S Guy Wilks was robbed of victory on the Rally of Italy on Sunday, when he was forced out just three stages from the end with a broken oil pipe.

The Suzuki driver had led from the opening day in his Swift 1600 and started the final leg with an advantage of more than two and a half minutes. However disaster struck near the end of Special Stage 15, when the engine lost its oil.

"I'm very disappointed - it's terrible bad luck," said Wilks, who still picked up a point for eighth under competition rules. "The oil pipe must have broken earlier in the stage, as I felt the engine gradually start to tighten. Then we stopped and tried to fix the pipe, but there was nothing more we could do as the car had lost all its oil.

"I think that we were perfectly on track to win the event, as we were driving sensibly and not taking any risks at all. Apart from one tiny pipe, the car worked perfectly throughout the weekend. I think we can consider this to be a moral victory for us!"

Tristram Oman, from Stockton-on-Tees, had a strong weekend in the Renault Formula ICA kart championship at PFI circuit near Newark.

Oman won two of the ICA heats to line up on pole position for the first final. He was passed by Adam Batch at the start of the race and was then challenged by championship leader Ollie Millroy and Jonathan Walker in the race, eventually finishing third. His results elevated him to fourth in the championship standings at the halfway point of the season.

Published: 2/05/2006