Joy of sixth for Milner (From York Press)

Joy of sixth for Milner

6:29am Saturday 6th March 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

FORMER British champion Jonny Milner made a confident start to his National Gravel Rally Championships comeback with a sixth-place finish in the Rallye Sunseeker in Bournemouth, writes sports editor Stuart Martel.

The East Yorkshire racer returned to the championship after a seven-year break, aiming to recreate the glories of his 2002 and 2003 title-winning campaigns.

Despite a couple of misfire problems with his BFGoodrich and 7 Lakes-backed Toyota Corolla WRC, Milner and co-driver Ian Windress negotiated a slippery course well to take sixth in the opening round of the six-rally series.

Milner, 41, based at Huggate, near Pocklington, was pleased with the performance and was confident that the duo could improve their position in the next round, the Pirelli Tour of Cumbria, on April 23 and 24.

Milner said: “Despite the misfire, the car was as quick as it has ever been.

“After feeling a bit rusty in the first stage, I soon settled in and it felt just like the old days, not like I’d had a seven-year break.

“There’s some work to do before Cumbria, but that course will suit us better than Bournemouth, so we’re hopeful that we will be able to get some points back.”

The main rival to the Yorkshire driver is expected to be Roger Duckworth, who finished fourth in his Subaru WRC.