AFTER a year’s absence from the sport, York ace Mick Smith returned with no sign of losing his touch in a rally car when he claimed a class victory on his debut event in his new Volkswagen Polo.

The opening round of Smith’s BTRDA Rally First Championship campaign attracted crews to Chepstow Racecourse for the Wyedean Rally, where Mick and Nottinghamshire navigator Calvin Houldsworth were greeted by their newly-built Volkswagen prepared and run by rallyme.co.uk.

Using the first few stages to get used to the car, having campaigned a smaller Nissan Micra for the past few years, Smith soon got to grips with the Avo suspension-shod Polo, which easily dealt with the tricky bumpy conditions of the Forest Of Dean.

Said Smith after a break half-way through the rally: “The car is running perfectly.

“rallyme.co.uk have done a excellent job preparing the car, and the handling on the Avo suspension is brilliant.”

A close battle with a similar Polo of James West saw the pair enter the final stage with only one second separating them.

An inspired run through the Mailscot stage gave Smith and Houldsworth a win by five seconds to take the class trophy on the opening round.

“It’s a great way to return to the scene, and taking victory on our first time in the car is more than we could have hoped for,” added Smith.

“The day saw a good battle with James (West) and the victory is testament to the car, and puts us in good stead for the rest of the season.”

Round two of the BRTDA event takes the duo to to the forests of the Lake District for the Malcolm Wilson Rally on March 7.