MARTIN Meadows is on his way to making BTRDA history.

No driver in the 25-year history of the championship has won the Gold Star in a 1600cc car.

But all that could change if the West Bradford graphic designer continues with the form he showed again on the Red Dragon Rally.

Driving his Ralliart Co-ordSport Proton Compact, Meadows and co-driver Ian Oakey raced through the Vale of Neath stages in South Wales to claim second place. The pair were beaten only by British Championship contender Nik Elsmore, driving his ex-works 2-litre Nissan Sunny which boasts a power output of 260bhp - 105bhp more than Meadows' Proton. A fifth straight class win has put him in an unassailable lead in the up-to-1600cc category, but in his efforts to be the first ever driver to win the Gold Star, it was the overall placing he was concentrating on.

"I'm a little bit disappointed, " admitted Meadows at the Aberavon finish. "People keep telling me I shouldn't be trying to beat Nik because he's got so much more power, but that's exactly what I want to do.

"I'm competitive and I want to win. Having said that, this has been another great performance for us.

"The car has been absolutely perfect today, as always. There's no way we could be anywhere near Elsmore if it wasn't for the way Harry Hockly is preparing the car. He does a fantastic job."

Meadows now faces an enforced break from the series.

BTRDA Gold Star rules state that a driver can only enter nine of the ten rounds, so he has decided to miss the next rally, before returning on the Quintons Stages in July.

And that leaves him eight weeks to contemplate his chances of making history.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.