Wilks crowned British Rally Champion

Guy Wilks has won the British Rally Championship on Wales Rally GB.

The 26-year-old won after winning the production category on the World Rally Championship round.

It is the Mitsubishi driver’s first international rally title.

In order to win the title he had to beat multiple British champion Mark Higgins – something he achieved by almost two minutes when his rival his rival hit gearbox and puncture problems.

An elated Wilks, who is co-driven by Phil Pugh,  said: “I’m absolutely delighted. That was a long final stage. I was concentrating 100% but it is an absolutely fantastic feeling to win the British Rally Championship. Great. Awesome. I’m over the moon. It’s been a hard year and I left it to the end to win, but now the feeling’s fantastic.”

Higgins, co-driven by Scott Martin, was heart-broken at losing his title – and faced a tough battle just to get his Mitsubishi to the finish at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium as gearbox problems worsened.

The 36-year-old said: “We’ve lost 4th, 5th and 2nd gears and we’re not back to Cardiff yet. I’m very disappointed about losing the British Rally Championship title. Guy did well and made very few mistakes. But next year I’ll be back to give him a fight.”

*Results remain subject to official confirmation