Miles Johnston

The title in his grasp - was fate about to intervene once more?

His head-to-head with Wayne Radford for the Mitsubishi Evolution Cup had taken a decisive turn in his direction in the Trackrod Rally Yorkshire, held last weekend.

Going into the event, staged deep in the North York Moors, Johnston held a slender six-point lead over his rival in the class championship for four-wheel drive cars.

Radford waved the white flag of surrender early when a turbo problem - following a broken brake pipe - forced him to call it a day on the fifth stage.

All Johnston had to do was reach the finish and the glory would be his.

But bad luck had intervened once before. The title had looked a long way away when Johnston was trapped overnight on the M5 and unable to make the start of the Rally of Swansea when severe floods hit Worcestershire and Gloucestershire in July.

But thankfully for the Green Hammerton racer, the 43-year-old was able to nurse his car home and claim the title in his very first season driving the Mitsubishi Evo 6 car.

It was the latest triumph in a career which has struck numerous blows at almost every motor racing level. From grass-track, to Mini racing to Formula Ford and now rally driving, Johnston has always been at the very top.

He's out-foxed stars of the Formula One circuit. Now, he's targeting the prestigious Rally GB and Mitsubishi Challenge as his next step on the highway.

"I finished 12th overall in the Rally Yorkshire which was a really good result considering it was a British Rally Championship Race and the Mitsubishi Evo Cup win meant I clinched the title," he said.

"I have won five of the seven races and, given it was my first season in the class, it was very pleasing. I wanted to enter, enjoy the races, enjoy myself and it has paid off."

Johnston began his career in circuit racing in the late 1980s and was a regular sight around the twists and straights of Donington Park and Brands Hatch.

A winner of the Formula Ford 1600 championship in 1987 and 1989, where he was up against the likes of future Formula One stars Mark Blundell and Johnny Herbert, only a lack of finance stopped him moving into Formula Three - the training ground for the sport's top drivers, including current Brit sensation Lewis Hamilton.

From there, Johnston turned his attention to rallying.

"Basically, I had gone as far as I could in circuit racing," he added. "The next step up was Formula Three and that was big money. I just didn't have it."

A stint with Peugeot in the early to mid-90s saw him finish second in the Peugeot 306 Championship in 1997, only missing out on the title after his car packed up in each of the final four rounds.

Johnston said: "I had led the championship most of the way so to miss out on getting it was absolutely heartbreaking. I drove the Rally GB in 1998 in a Vauxhall Astra where I was second in the class and then did it again in 2000 - this time in a Peugeot 106.

"We were the last car to retire on the final stage. Basically the whole thing just went up in flames."

That setback left Johnston with no car and meant no rallying until he decided to make a comeback to the circuit two years ago - with tremendous results.

"I did the odd one-off event but I just fancied giving it another go," he said. "I drove for Peugeot again and won the 206 Championship in 2005 but missed out in 2006. I didn't finish the last two events - I was leading the championship but the engine blew up. Once again, I was absolutely gutted."

This season saw Johnston leave two-wheel drive cars behind to take on the four-wheel challenge with the Mitsubishi Evo 6. Said Johnston: "The stages were getting so rough for two-wheel drive that I just wasn't enjoying it.

"Four-wheel drives are obviously bigger cars - they are so much more powerful and they just ride the bumps that little bit better. With it being the first season in such a car, we (Johnston and co-driver Ian Bevan) didn't think we would win the title.

"We just wanted to go out and enjoy ourselves and enjoy the events, while taking it as seriously as possible of course."

So why has he stuck around in the sport so long? "I love the people involved in rallying and, although you shouldn't really look, you get to see some fantastic scenery," he quipped.

"I have always been there or thereabouts at the top - whether it has been circuit racing or rallying, and Evo 8 next year in the Mitsubishi Challenge is going to be quite tough. I want to move up to Evo 9 in 2009 so I will be doing the Rally GB partly to get used to the car.

"I love motorsport and I am looking forward to stepping up."