JOHN Thompson's bid for a record-breaking hat-trick on the Grizedale Stages ended in disappointment after he was pipped at the finishing post -- by just four seconds.

Winner in 1998 and 1999, the Slaidburn farmer had to concede victory to Carnforth forestry consultant Steve Head after a last stage shoot-out to decide the winner.

Level-pegging after five demanding tests in the Grizedale Forest complex near Coniston, it was Head's Mitsubishi Lancer that emerged quickest, stopping the clocks at 8m 49s, with Thompson's Track-Tec Escort Cosworth recording 8m 53s.

But Thompson, who had Martin Meadows' co-driver Ian Oakey alongside for the first time, was gracious in defeat.

"It would have been nice to win again, but I can't complain," he said. "Steve drove really well, and we had a great scrap all day. I dropped nine seconds on the first stage and I think that may have been down to me getting used to Ian reading the notes."

Third place went to former British champion David Higgins, who brought his factory Ford Puma kit car home one minute and 19 seconds adrift of Thompson.

The legendary forest tracks in Grizedale -- used for many years on the Network Q Rally of Great Britain -- caught out many drivers, with the highly-rated Ian Joel and Steve Petch both falling victim to the deceptively quick roads.

Joel, quickest on the opening High Cross stage, had to be content with 15th overall after losing five minutes when he went off the road on the very next test.

National championship regular Steve Petch was set for a place on the podium when he crashed his Escort WRC on the penultimate stage. But East Lancashire pair Daniel Harper and Daniel Barritt had the satisfaction of again embarrassing their more powerful rivals by finishing 11th overall and third in class in their Powerzone of Padiham-backed Vauxhall Astra Sport.

BTRDA Gold Star champion Martin Meadows enjoyed a steady run to 50th overall in the Myerscough College Skoda Favorit.

Meadows, from West Bradford, had been invited to drive the car -- with college student Rachel Medich on the maps -- as a practical exercise for those on the motorsport engineering course.

He said: "Hopefully, it gave the students at Myerscough some hands-on experience which benefit their studies. For me, it was great just to drive for fun without any pressure -- and the car came back in one piece!"

Clitheroe DMC crews Rob Brown-Kenna/ Chris Campbell and Kiaran Hankin/Mark Cheetham enjoyed a successful day, finishing 56th and 48th overall respectively.

Former ANWCC champion Ian Winstanley, from Trawden, was in spectacular form in his Scion Systems-backed Peugeot 205GTi, and was only denied a place in the top 20 when the clutch failed halfway through the Dunnerdale stage.

"We set off relatively steadily and increased our speed on the second Grizedale stage, getting very close to joining all the other retirees on the infamous tightening left," said Winstanley, who was co-driven by Burnley optician Stephen Bye.

"We then set a time only two seconds off the bogey in Dunnerdale 1. We were flying and taking blind crests flat as I was really gaining confidence in the car and taking Stephen's "flat over brow" calls literally.

" We were going to try and break the bogey on stage four but the clutch wouldn't release at the stage end, and finally let go halfway through the next test."