THE Lion Stages in Kidland Forest, was the venue for the second round of the Spax, Diamond Products and PCS Forest Championship last Sunday.

The new partnership of Joe Waters and Katy Mashiter from Morecambe had a steep learning curve ahead of them as well as being Katy's first forest event, it was only Joe's second time behind the wheel of the ex-Clive Sisson Sierra Cosworth 4x4.

The crews first test came on the second stage when a mound of soil threw the local pairing into the ditch at the side of the track. Cosworth power got the better of this and put them back on the right road without damaging the car.

After this, things went fairly smoothly and - with some of the other local crews succumbing to the mechanical gremlins, including Dave Thwaites, Rick Fry, Geoff Wilson and Ian Knowles - Joe and Katy finished the day with more than 30 points in the local RSM supported Series.

Event winners Ian Joel/Graeme Wood from Carnforth pressed club mates Bob Green/Mal Capstick all day and finally took advantage of a minute penalty, the Kendal team received and powered into first place leaving Green/Capstick in 4th.

Also competing this weekend was Katy's husband Neil who had an entry in the Rally Car class at Barbon Hillclimb on Saturday.

Allowing one of your friends to compete in your car on the same event is always fatal and this was demonstrated again when Mashiter was beat by Carnforth's Geoff Crabtree, all be it by a few tenths of a second. Silverdale's Sid Ormrod took second place behind Jim MacDiarmid who, due to the intermittent showers, couldn't beat the record time that he set on the same hill last year.

Joe Waters on the Pirelli Trophy Rally - his first time in the Cosworth

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