SWINDON local Ian Barnes consolidated his British Trail and Rally Drivers Association (BTRDA) championship positions last Saturday after finishing 41st overall on the Trackrod Forest Stages rally.

The relatively novice driver had never previously competed on the Yorkshire rally and the North Yorkshire forests were the challenge Barnes had to rise to.

Despite breaking his centre exhaust bracket on a deep hole, Barnes came home at the end of Saturday 41st out of 89 cars in the BTRDA event. He was third Historic Car home and second in Class H2 for his 1973 Ford Escort RS2000.

It was a pleasing result for the Swindon driver.

“My Championship positions are very respectable given that I have only entered three rallies, but we finished all three,” he said.

“Being self-funded means that my budget will only ever allow me a limited programme at this level each year and my search for sponsorship goes on. I get better on every event, the car looks and works spectacularly and we finish rallies.

“The Yorkshire stages are very fast, compared to many of the stages I have experienced in Wales they have much longer straights but at times are also very narrow.

“The rally requires precision at high speed and I am sure that experiencing this type of rally will have been good for me. I am still lacking experience and confidence on the really fast sections.

“I also have to bear in mind that my car specification is strictly controlled by the Historic Rally Car status and the classes in which we run so I am more than happy with my progress.’’

Barnes also had the benefit of the experience of a rally school instructor of Robert Gilham - who is a professional rally and racing instructor - guiding him.

He added: “I was really pleased with our teamwork, we got on the night we met and this carried over into the car.

“Rob is very professional and did a great job for me. A bonus will be getting his views on my driving in the days to come. Hopefully, we can build a strong partnership for next year.”