John Bannister, from near Driffield, upheld the battle for local pride in the inaugural MEM RollTek Malton Forestry Rally last Sunday.

Malton Motor Club member Bannister, son of well-known ace Steve, took second place just 35 seconds behind the winner.

Former Skoda Trophy battlers Jeremy and Paul Nolan were another Yorkshire crew to feature well on the leaderboard after managing to keep their Ford Escort Cosworth out of trouble to claim the final podium spot.

But it was Scottish invader Dave Weston and co-driver Neil Shanks who entered late in their ex-Carlos Sainz Ford Escort WRC and stole the win despite major gearbox problems for the final loop of stages.

Fierce competition was expected from the likes of John Thompson and Ken Bills, and Steve Petch and John Richardson, as the Malton Motor Club attracted more than 65 entries to the new forest rally.

The 45-mile event had a total of nine special stages, using classic roads in both Cropton and Gale Rigg. Spectator-friendly stages at the Pickering Showground also added to what was a well-received rally by competitors and spectators alike.

Scorton driver Steve Petch and Northallerton co-driver John Richardson were one of the first retirements with a noisy gearbox, while early front-runner Kevin Procter also suffered mechanical misfortune when a damaged radiator forced him into an early bath.

Another front runner John Thompson also failed to return to service, after a heavy crash on stage six in Gale Rigg. The stage was aborted due to fears that he and co-driver Ken Bills were badly injured. The pair were taken to hospital but, thankfully, were released with only minor injuries.

After the second loop of stages, Weston had a healthy lead - but not such a healthy machine with both fourth and fifth gear no longer available. With one final run over the stages, Weston and co-driver Shanks were able to nurse their Escort home to claim a fine win.

In the classes, there was a double success for Pickering. Kumho Clubman championship stalwart Steve Magson took the honours in class three in his Vauxhall Astra RWD, sneaking into the top ten overall with Geoff Atkinson alongside. And class one went to another Pickering driver, Alan Richardson, in his Vauxhall Nova. With Chris Roe alongside, he edged out Barry McGuinness and Mark Garner.

Lancastrian Tom Boardman tasted his first-ever class win on only his second outing. After a trouble-free performance, he and Craig Parry finished 20th overall, and first in the 1600cc class.

The only woman driver to finish the rally was Kim Baker, from the Isle of Mull, in 48th place.

Updated: 11:54 Wednesday, December 17, 2003