COUNTY Durham rally driver Chris Anderson recorded a career best result when he took 20th overall on the Howford Hydraulics Tarmac Stages Rally at Ingliston near Edinburgh.

The 17-year-old maintenance engineer from Butterknowle, near Bishop Auckland, was driving on only his third event at the Dunfermline Car Club event.

Along with experienced co driver Chris Thirling, the pair made a great start in the Wilkinson Maintenance and John Cullerton & Sons-sponsored and MSR Motorsport-prepared ex Guy Wilks Ford Puma S1600 around the former racetrack near the Scottish airport.

Battling against much more experienced crews, Anderson stuck to his task well to bring the car home inside the top 20 out of the 68 starters and, in doing so, claimed sixth place in class and with it, vital points in the AS Performance North of England Tarmac Rally Championship.

In addition he picked up the award for best improvement on seeding.

"The car ran faultlessly and we had a perfect run without any problems at all so its thanks to all the team for a superb effort," he said. "I'm really enjoying learning to drive the car and seem to be getting faster all the time so I'm really looking forward to our next event."

Following his latest cross-border trip, it's back to more familiar territory for Anderson when he contests the ALM Autodrome Stages at Teesside Autodrome near Middlesbrough on May 4.