STEVE Johnson’s bid for the Formula 1000 Tarmac Rally Championship is gaining momentum following his second place on the Caerwent Stages in Wales.

The former autotest champion didn’t put a wheel wrong on his first visit to the tricky Ministry of Defence venue, finishing just 28 seconds behind class winner Darren Whitworth.

“It was our first time at Caerwent and it took a while to learn the roads, so we’re delighted with the result,” said Johnson, who was co-driven by Steve Butler.

“And we had an added bonus because the championship leader Joe Taylor retired from the rally, so we’ve closed the gap on him to just one point.”

Acknowledged as a difficult venue even for experienced drivers, this year’s Mid Summer Caerwent Stages comprised only seven stages, but with each averaging 11 miles, it proved to be a survival of the fittest.

And after retiring from the third round of the series, held at Weeton army camp near Blackpool, Johnson was happy to get his challenge back underway again.

“It was like Weeton on steroids!” joked Johnson, who lives in Accrington.

“We never used the same piece of road twice and there were no splits or merges. Each stage, for F1000 competitors, averaged 14 minutes. You knew by the end of the day you’d been in a proper rally.

“We were 28 seconds off the pace on the first stage because we simply didn’t know the roads, but once we got going the times really came down.”

Two seconds and a fourth from the opening for rounds of the F1000 Challenge – designed as a low-cost rally series for two-wheel drive, one-litre cars – have left Johnson just one point behind leader Joe Taylor with five rounds to go.

Next up is the Trawsfynydd Stages in North Wales in two weeks time.

For more info on the series visit the website below.