An emergency journey from Yorkshire paid off as Jonny Milner captured his first Pirelli British Championship success in the Rally of Wales yesterday.

However, there was no joy for York driver James Thompson, who crashed out on stage three, his Peugeot sustaining suspension damage when he veered into a ditch.

Milner, from Driffield, sent for a replacement differential pump for his Toyota Corolla after suffering problems when the event began in Wrexham on Saturday, and the part worked the oracle as he stormed to victory in a wide open rally.

Although there were only eight stages in round two of this year's series, five different drivers held the lead with Milner the last of them, extending his advantage after going ahead on the sixth timed section.

That prospect looked unlikely when he was down in seventh overnight but, just as he did when second in Gateshead last month, the 33-year-old soared up the leaderboard.

With his ex-Didier Auriol world rally car proving the class of the field, Milner - who has had his fair share of accidents over the years - produced a fine display, climbing four places to second on stage five.

He wrested the initiative from Finland's Tapio Laukkanen on the next competitive stint and did not look back, completing the rally with 43.6 seconds in hand of the runner-up, 1999 winner David Higgins.

Milner is now three points clear in the title race. "It was the most nerve-wracking last stage of my life," he said.

Updated: 12:05 Monday, May 20, 2002