LUDLOW Castle Motor Club members were out in force for the Rally North Wales which saw both historic and modern cars tackling the treacherously wet and muddy tracks of the Dyfi Forest in Mid Wales.

For the historic section this was also the second round of the Mintex British Historic Rally and there were high hopes for a number of club members.

Co-driver Phil Clarke and Builth Wells-based driver Jason Pritchard were top-seeded historic crew running at seven in the North Road Garage supported MKII Escort. They were one place ahead of championship rivals Nick Elliot/Dave Price with fellow club members Joe Price/Chris Brooks at 11, all three crews in MKII Ford Escorts and all hopeful of gaining some valuable championship points.

And it proved to be a day of contrasting fortunes with Price/Brooks in impressive form until they clipped a left-hander and ended up rolling the car. The pair escaped unscathed and hope to be out on the next round of the championship, the Pirelli Rally which they won last year.

That incident gifted second place to Pritchard/Clarke who were happy to pick up decent points on what had been a lacklustre day.

In the modern section, Keaton Williams was out at number 47 co-driving for Bridgnorth’s Duncan Williams in his road rally spec Escort, while Martley’s Colin and Martin Griffiths brought out their BMW Compact, seeded at 44, in their hunt for Welsh Championship points.

The Griffiths pair finished the day 35th overall and third in class after a couple of excursions into trees while the Williams pairing continued to enjoy themselves in their Escort finishing 42nd and maintaining their class lead.