rish driver Drexel Gillespie debuted his 'new' Lotus Cortina Mk2 on the second round of the 2004 Armajaro MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the Astra Stages on Saturday (3 April).

Co-driven by Gill Cotton, Gillespie claimed a class-winning second place in the historic category, ending the day just 10 seconds adrift of the Porsche 911 of Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride.

"After 14 hard years, the shell needed retiring," admitted Drexel, who has spent the last five months building the car into a new shell. "We're just running it in and hoping for a finish," he said before the start, adding that he wanted to get the car back to the finish without putting a mark on it!

True to his word, Gillespie returned to Llangollen after seven stages in North Wales just 10 seconds down on Nutt. "I got used to the car very quickly and I was enjoying myself. But nobody is more surprised about the result than me!"

As well as forays into the BHRC, Drexel is a regular competitor on historic events in Ireland. "We come over here to do the forest events," says Gillespie, who plans to return to Wales for round four of the BHRC, the Mutiny Stages on 5 June.