ACCRINGTON'S Steve Johnson has clinched the SD34 Championship for the second year in succession.

And the Accrington Motorsport Club member said this victory was even sweeter.

Johnson, who has had three co-drivers sitting alongside him in the shape of daughter Heather, Dave Barrett and Steve Butler, just edged the Championship in front of Pendle and District Motorsport Club's Dave Blackburn, although the result is only provisional at this stage and subject to a two-week appeals process.

But he said: "Last year I had three months off with a bad back, but I'd built up such a lead that I was able to come straight back and carry on from where I'd left off.

"This year, I was never assured of the win at any point and it went right down to the last event. I think we were only separated by a couple of points."

The back-to-back win was even more remarkable after the start Johnson made to the Championship, where he suffered broken suspension to his Micra and had to crawl round the stage to ensure he finished.

And, amazingly, he was able to continue in the race when friends helped him out by rushing back to Accrington and brought spare parts.

It may not have been the perfect beginning to his title defence, but Johnson showed great resilience throughout the rest of the campaign, with particularly good results at the Three Sisters events.

He added: "This year has all been about perseverance and it's shown what can be achieved with a small car and it shows the success you can have without having to spend a fortune."