Jason Pritchard and Phil Clarke got their season off to a perfect start with victory on Sunday's Red Kite Historic Stages (Sunday 21 February), the opening round of the 2016 Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Championship.The ice and snow of the 2015 Red Kite was replaced by persistent rain and, at times, thick fog to deliver another tough start to the season but Pritchard and Clarke (Ford Escort Mk2) never put a wheel wrong and took maximum points to open their title defence in style.However, this was no easy win as Nick Elliott and Dave Price ran neck-and-neck for the lead until their Escort Mk2 stalled on the second run through Crychan and refused to restart for around 15 seconds. While Pritchard could afford a measured approach in the final Caio stage, Elliott attacked to grab second place back from the impressive Joe Price and Chris Brooks (Escort Mk2).A final stage gearbox drama for John Perrott and Keaton Williams (Ford Escort Mk1) left the way open for Stanley Orr and Guy Weaver to win a Category 2 battle that had raged all day. Category 1 was also settled on the final stage as Bob and Dale Gibbons (Ford Cortina Mk2) emerged for victory when the chasing Bob Bean and Malcolm Smithson had an electrical failure stop their Lotus Cortina.Category winners were:Category 1: Bob Gibbons/Dale Gibbons (Ford Cortina Mk2)Category 2: Stanley Orr/Guy Weaver (Ford Escort Mk1)Category 3: Nick Elliott/Dave Price (Ford Escort Mk2)Category K: Jason Pritchard/Phil Clarke (Ford Escort Mk2)