Callum Black celebrated back-to-back Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship titles by winning the final round of the series, the Hills Ford Stages this weekend, at his first attempt in his 586 Sport-prepared Pallas Connections Ford Fiesta Rally2.

Co-driven by three-time champion Jack Morton, the Brackley driver lost 37 seconds on Saturday when an engine mapping issue saw the car trip into limp mode on both SS1 and 2, but he quickly regained that time and more as he took the lead on SS5.

“This was my first time at Hills Ford Stages and I underestimated how good the stages were going to be because once I did the recce I realised that it was going to be a fantastic rally,” said Callum.

“We had a bit of a blip on both the Saturday night stages and lost a chunk of time, but Sunday was fantastic. I really enjoyed it. The stages were really fast and challenging and all credit to the organisers for putting on such a good event.

“I’m delighted to win back-to-back Protyre Asphalt titles, and to finish the season with four wins out of four events is quite special. The second half of our season could not have gone better really.”

Neil Roskell arrived at the Hills Ford Stages knowing that he could tie on points with Callum but would lose the title on a tiebreak. That didn’t lessen his commitment or determination to end the Protyre Asphalt season on a high and he attacked the stages with characteristic gusto.

He lost time with a big overshoot on SS7 and lost even more time after collecting a rear left puncture halfway through SS9. In a fantastic finale, Neil was 11 seconds fastest through the concluding 8.51-mile Marcle Hill stage the second time than he’d been the first to secure second place on the event (and in the championship) in his ND Civils/Burdens/Witham Motorsport Fiesta Rally2.

Steve finished third, a mere three seconds behind, after a gutsy performance in his Sligo Pallets Citroën C3 Rally2. The 2022 Protyre Asphalt champion admitted to lacking confidence after an accident in Galway but was back to his best by Sunday afternoon. He might well have snatched second place, had it not been for a moment when he “floated along a ditch” having gone a little wide on a very fast right hander on the final stage. Nevertheless, a podium finish was an excellent result.

Roger Duckworth was equal third overall after a magnificent start to the event on Saturday. He and co-driver Alun Cook were sensational in their “older, original” Technia Fiesta R5 and finished fourth, just 15 seconds off the podium.

James Labey clinched the Protyre Asphalt Junior title after a superb run in his Fiesta Rally2. The 22-year old from Jersey stalled the engine twice in two Sunday morning stages after being caught out a little on patches of gravel, but despite this he and co-driver Sion Cunniff completed their first event since the Dunoon Presents Argyll Rally in June to take home the coveted U25 trophy.

Having won the class B14 title in a Hills Ford Fiesta Rally3, Will Hill contested the event in a Dom Buckley RSC Fiesta Rally2. Unfortunately, he locked up under braking on a bumpy section in SS3 and put the car off the road. The car was undamaged, and he and co-driver Richard Crozier returned in the afternoon to get some valuable Rally2 seat time.

Brad Cole surprised everyone by turning up in a new Hydroline Solutions Fiesta Rally2, which promptly won the Dynamic Fluids Best Presented Car Award – selected by championship scruntineer Geoff Doe and presented by championship co-ordinator Paul Morris. It was the Somerset driver’s first rally since breaking his arm on the Manx National, so naturally he and co-driver Jamie Vaughan were being sensible and getting used to the Trick Motorsport machine, which couldn’t have been more different to the 2.5-litre Escort Mk2 he used to complete in. Unfortunately Brad’s rally came to an end on Sunday afternoon when a bad engine misfire intervened.

Simon Bowen/Craig Simkiss had a disastrous start and picked up an opening stage maximum time after putting their Fiesta S2000T into a ditch at high speed. They ended day one 2mins 22secs behind the leaders and then retired early on Sunday. Having led the series at mid-distance, Simon finished fourth in the overall drivers’ standings.

After such a fantastic season, it wasn’t an event that Sam Touzel will care to remember either. Despite the stages reminding him of his native Jersey lanes, nothing seemed to click. It was unsettling that his co-driver Max Freeman was taken unwell before the start and despite being replaced by the vastly experienced Ross Whittock it wasn’t destined to be a good event. The final straw came then he clipped a bail with his Smart Scaffolding/CC Fixings/ACD Disaster Management Fiesta Rally2 which damage a ball joint and effectively put him out of the event.

Oliver Davies/Jack Bowen celebrated their first class B13 and 2WD podium of the season in their KGP Motorsport/Adam Hewitt Agri Plant & Salvage Escort Mk2. They survived a late starter motor scare, which meant that they had to keep the engine running during the final afternoon loop for fear of it not firing back up if it stalled.

A fourth class win of the season secured Ben Crump the B11 title after a great season in his Coltech Escort Mk2. His co-driver Ian Beamond finished second in the standings to Cameron Dunn (despite Michael Harbour non-starting as he couldn’t get his Aldosport/Hamilton Haulage/VS Pro Pressure Washing Services Escort Mk2 fixed in time for the event).

It was also a great event for local driver Alan Marriage who, together with Kevin Lane, scored his first points of the season with a third-place finish in his Brambourne Automotive Escort Mk2, while Philip Jones/Andrew Richards finished fourth in their Escort Mk2.

There were plenty of B11 retirements. Ant Allery/Richard Bonner retired their Escort Mk2 with transmission problems on Saturday, Matt Turner/Tom Bishop crashed their Aberystwyth Motorsport Escort Mk2 on SS3, George Heighway/Paul DeBono crashed their Toyota Corolla on SS7 and Geoff Glover/Keith Barker retired their Vauxhall Astra RWD after the clutch packed in at the end of SS5.

Darren Pool/Chris Beer felt that the tracking was out on their Eveleighs Garage Vauxhall Corsa and struggled to find a rhythm – not helped by a number of stoppages ahead of them. They persevered to score their first class B10 win of the season, beating Willie and Craig Nelson (Escort Mk2).

A magnificent six out of six class wins has secured Simon Hunter/Howard Pridmore a very well deserved B9 title in their Kwiktrak Vauxhall Corsa S1400. They finished ahead of Alex and Stephen Roscoe (Humphris Rallysport Nissan Micra) on the day to round off a superb season.