ON a cheerless, dull, but fortunately rain free day, the Bolton-le-Moors Rally on the Park Hall course was a thrilling success for the 75 crews in this first event of the North Western Car Club 2003 Championship.

Last year's winners, Gwyn Thomas and Phil Harrison from Rhyl in their four wheeled drive Ford Puma, repeated their success, while the Ford Escort Cosworth of Blackpool's team of Taylor and Graveson coming second, with Simpson and Booth third in a Subaru Impreza.

Bolton drivers Ian Chadwick and Graham Shiels in a Mazda finished 17th, David Fairhurst and Linda Whitmore were classified 40th in their VW Scirocco.

There was excitement from the first run, a Ford Escort Cosworth puncturing all four tyres at the same time, blocking the track and bringing the rally to a halt.

The car was eventually rescued, shod with new tyres and continued, but unfortunately, the crew immediately rolled the car, which then caught fire, and although quickly extinguished, was towed away into retirement.

On the stage three, Blackburn driver Nigel Worswick rolled his Ford Escort into retirement with a damaged roof and safety bar.

The excitement was still not over for a Peugeot crew from Liverpool, when their car skidded into the lake, the crew escaping without injury.

The damp track took its toll on the third stage of the day, with three cars being eliminated, one of the cars, a Ford Escort, hitting three trees before coming to a battered halt in thick mud.

It all added to a day of high speed and high excitement with the large crowd treated to an exceptionally good car rally, from dawn to dusk with the cars running from mid afternoon with their headlights blazing as the darkness closed in.