As crews prepare for the final round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, Phil Burton and Mal Capstick have been confirmed as overall champions in their Open Category Ford Escort Mk2.The Lancashire crew have enjoyed a tremendous season and cannot now be caught during the Trackrod Rally (25/26 September). However, they will still contest the Trackrod and will be going all-out for another maximum score.The championship, organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club, has run in parallel to the Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Championship and has been aimed at clubmen historic crews as well as those running in the Open Category. With containing costs for clubmen as a prime aim, the championship runs to a six-tyre rule on all events.“We’ve achieved what we set out to do,” said Burton, who had taken two years out of rallying to concentrate on business commitments and make some upgrades to the car. “The car needed some attention and then we looked around at what we could do and picked the R.A.C. Championship.” As his car’s specification is some way beyond that of the historic cars, he entered the championship’s Open Category.“I wanted to benchmark myself against some of the very quickest drivers in the historic Escort Mk2s. We had some new sponsors for 2015 and it was a baptism of fire on the Red Kite with the icy conditions. Then we ended up in a ditch on the Mid Wales but I’ve driven within myself for the rest of the year.”In July, he competed over Epynt for the first time and on his first asphalt rally for more than 20 years. “I went to Epynt for points and I enjoyed it,” he said.With the overall title secure, Burton can go to this weekend’s Trackrod Rally with the pressure off. It will be his first time in the Yorkshire forests since 2008 on the Roger Albert Clark Rally.