STEVE Entwistle was on fire on last weekend’s Northumberland Borders Rally – but not in the way he would have wanted.

After clinching the HRCR Clubmans title and the ANWCC Championship, the Rishton-based driver was aiming to finish a brilliant season with another victory.

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But it didn’t go quite to plan when Entwistle and navigator Iain Tullie noticed smoke filling the cabin of the Orangebox Mini on the night section.

Pulling over, Entwistle leapt out to see flames licking around the bonnet and grille, the result of melted wiring around the engine.

After extinguishing the fire, the pair were back on their way, but the six-minute time loss meant they had to settle for second place.

“I really wanted to finish with a win, but after all the dramas, I was happy to settle for runner-up spot,” he explained.

The format of seven special tests, all in farmyards, on Saturday afternoon, followed by a ‘half night’ road rally proved popular with competitors, who were all driving Minis.

“We had a bit of a nightmare on the second test when we dropped 20 seconds, but we managed to pull some of that back when we took 16 seconds out of eventual winner Graeme Cornthwaite on the final 1.4km test,” he added.

“We were going well on the night section, until things got a bit heated.”

The result brings the curtain down temporarily on Entwistle’s iconic Orangebox.

The marigold-coloured car, a ‘cut and shut’ of the front half of a van and the rear half of a Mini saloon, became famous in the 1960s when it was driven by Roy Mapple to numerous successes. Entwistle restored the car almost five years ago with the aim of reliving the glory years on historic events.

And he’s been rewarded with a remarkable record, with 40 finishes from 41 starts.