Round 8: Rallye Sunseeker HistoriqueRichard Hill won the 2013 Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Championship driver’s title at the weekend’s Rally Sunseeker Historique after taking his sixth maximum points score of the season. The Ford Escort Mk1 driver set a cracking pace over the day’s nine special stages to win Category Two (1968 – ’75 cars) by 1m 13s from David Stokes / Guy Weaver’s identical car.Despite Stokes’s best efforts, Hill led from stage one and went on to set a series of fastest stage times, beating all the Category Three cars in the process. Behind Stokes, Wayne Bonser / Rich Aston (Escort Mk1 RS 2000) finished third, overhauling Nick Danks / Martin Corbett’s Escort in the closing miles.Victory in Category One (pre-1968 cars) was an absolute must for Dessie Nutt / Geraldine McBride and Rikki Proffitt / Phill Harrison, as both drivers could still have won the championship, but after mechanical issues for Proffitt it was Nutt that triumphed to secure third in the championship.In Category Three (1975- ’81 cars), winners Gareth James / Steffan Evans chased down the in-form Ernie / Will Graham, overhauling the Escort on the final stage to claim maximum points and secure Evans the BHRC co-driver’s crown.ResultsCategory One: 1 Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride (Porsche 911) 1h 1m 36.3s; 2 Edmund Peel/Janet Craine (911) + 3m 43.9s; 3 Clive King/Bob Ward (Mini Cooper ‘S’); + 4m 2.3s.Category Two: 1 Richard Hill/Pat Cooper (Ford Escort Mk1) 55m 27.7s; 2 David Stokes/Guy Weaver (Escort Mk1) + 1m 13.7s; 3 Wayne Bonser/Richard Aston (Escort RS 2000 Mk1) + 5m 45.8s.Category Three: 1 Gareth James/Steffan Evans (Ford Escort Mk2 RS 1800) 56m 26.1s; 2 Ernie Graham/Will Graham (Escort RS Mk2) + 14.7s; 3 Shawn Rayner/Declan Dear (Escort Mk2) + 2m 44.4s.

Final championship points (after eight rounds)Drivers:1 Hill 217;2 James 201.5:3 Nutt 199.5;4 Stokes 192;5 Proffitt 181.Co-drivers:1 Steffan Evans 201.5;2 Geraldine McBride 199.5;3 Guy Weaver 192;4 Richard Aston 181.5;5 Phill Harrison 181.