MARTIN Meadows survived an attack of stage fright on the Quinton Rally to record his third BTRDA win of the year, writes NEIL JOHNSON.

Meadows and co-driver Ian Oakey slid off backwards on the first test in Crychan forest - parking his Proton next to title rival Nik Elsmore.

Running first on the road, Elsmore had made the same mistake, and his Nissan Sunny was lodged firmly in a ditch and going nowhere.

Meadows was more fortunate, and kept his engine running to drive out of the gully.

"The first stage was amazingly slippery, just like driving on ball bearings," explained Meadows, who lives in Clitheroe.

"We were hammering down the long straight when another corner came at us from nowhere. It simply wasn't on the map.

"We shot off backwards and were really lucky not to hit anything."

The off-road excursion cost the pair 20 seconds and the lead of Gold Star category, but such was their pace at the head of the field, they were back in front again after just three stages.

Pushing the Silverstone Tyres-backed car hard through the final two tests was enough for Meadows and Oakey to finish with a comfortable 40 seconds advantage over their rivals. The win carries them closer to the BTRDA Gold Star Championship and the history books - as the first 1600cc-powered competitors to lift a national title.

Oakey, from Gloucestershire, has already clinched the navigator's overall title, because rival drivers have employed a variety of different mapmen.

An unprecedented six maximum scores in the up-to-1600cc category has given Meadows the class award, and he is now aiming to follow is co-driver to the top step of the podium.

The BTRDA championship moves to Herefordshire for the Ludlow-based Woodpecker Stages on September 5, before the Cambrian Rally finale in Llandudno.

Said Meadows: "The remaining two rallies have been good to me. I really like the stages and they suit the car.

"I'll be pushing as hard as ever to secure the title for the team and Proton."

TENTH place on the Quinton kept Slaidburn's John Thompson in contention for the BTRDA Silver Star title.

One of the series most consistent finishers, Thompson and co-driver Dave McKinlay - in their Track-Tec Escort Cosworth have a seven-point advantage over second-placed Simon Crook.

But the race for the title looks set to go down to the wire.

A complicated points scoring system - only the best six scores from the first nine rounds started can count - can penalise drivers like Thompson, who has so far scored points in seven out of eight rounds.

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