IT was last stage heartbreak for Dan Mennell at the end of a brilliant display of fast and controlled driving in last weekend’s Trackrod Rally Yorkshire.

At the wheel of a two-litre Ford Escort, the Malton driver was vying for the lead throughout the six-stage test in his local North York Moors forests, hitting the front of an eighty strong field just before entering the final fast and furious 10-mile run through Langdale.

With a tenuous 2.1 second advantage over his pursuers and fellow challengers for the Fuchs Lubricants British Historic Championship, the North Yorkshireman emerged from the all-gravel stage to find that he had been narrowly outpaced by East Anglian Ben Friend’s similar Escort and Chesterfield’s series’ front-runner Seb Perez, in an eye-catching Porsche 911.

After 58 timed to a fraction of a second competitive miles, there was less than ten seconds separating the top four with Mennell and Welsh co-driver John Roberts finishing nine adrift of Friend and 6.1 seconds slower than Perez, but completing the podium by staying a mere eight-tenths of a second ahead of Chesterfield’s Richard Hill’s Escort RS1800.

A frustrated but still delighted garage proprietor Mennell commented: “This one was pretty special to us as we had two flat-out weeks to build a car up from a shell.

“I’d like to thank everyone who bent their backs to help us and my wife Anneka’s patience - having me away for the past few weeks.

“To lead the rally was a massive shock but then to lose it over the last stage…”

Malton neighbour Steve Magson also came away with class honours in his uncommon in present day rallying rear-wheel drive Vauxhall Astra.

Elliot Payne, from near Harrogate, made history as finishing second in the Trackrod Forest Stages Rally clinched an unprecedented third successive Protyre BTRDA Gold Star Championship.

The Ford Fiesta Rally2 pilot was beaten on the day by Matthew Hirst’s turbocharged Skoda Fabia in the separate but concurrently running section of an event which had 168 starters in total.