Stage 13, a 7.8 mile run through Bewshaugh saw youg Jones go 0.4 seconds quicker than a flying Mark Higgins, whilst Champion was only 4th quickest after his gearknob came loose!
Champion responded to the pressure by winning the last 'proper' stage of the Pirelli Rally. 4 seconds faster than Evans, but more importantly 7 seconds quicker than Mark Higgins meant he held a slender 14 second lead as the rally headed back to Carlisle for the final run through the 'P zero' stage.
"I was absolutely flat out through there [SS15]," said Champion. "I could not have gone any quicker at all, and was slightly concerned as I ran the stage without a sumpguard!"
Young Stuart Jones, who had been lying in fourth, a mere 40 seconds off the lead, felt the full effect of Kielder when he ran wide out of a corner and was sucked into a ditch, rolling over and ending up back on his wheels. However he then stalled the car and lost 2 minutes restarting it! Another car to suffer cruel luck was Wilks, dominating the S1600 catergory and well inside the top 10 when his engine cried enough and he coasted to a halt.
Another stage win for David Higgins around the final P zero stage of the rally saw him finish fourth, ruing what could have been without his time penalty on Saturday, whilst Champion, with no sump guard, took it easy around the last stage, happy to sacrifice some time to those behind him as he headed towards his first outright victory in the British Rally Championship.
"I am absolutely extactic! I was confident we would be on the pace this weekend but to win here, and against such tough competition is incredible," he said. "Kielder is such a tricky place!"
Mark Higgins was rather frustrated by the event: "Obviously I am gutted. I have never ever had two front punctures in my life! Apart from that the car performed faultlessly and I think the championship is still wide open."
With Wilks late misfortunes young Barry Clark took the S1600 honours with Justin Dale winning class R3 in his little giant killing Renault Clio.
