DURSLEY driver David Stokes suffered his first retirement of the season on last weekend’s Severn Valley Historic Rally while holding a comfortable 40 second lead.

Round Four of the Wanago/Dunlop MSA Historic Championship saw crews arrive at the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells, where eight stages totalling 52 miles lay ahead in the forests of Halfway,Crychan,and Cefn.

Despite an overshot near the end of the opening test in Crychan South caused by brake problems, Stokes and co-driver Guy Weaver opened up a one second lead over rival Rupert Lomax in their Draycott Bakeries/Ashmores backed Escort RS1600.

The six mile Halfway stage saw the baker increase his lead,taking a massive 13 seconds out of Lomax after sorting out his brake bias problem.

Belgian star Steffan Stouf retired his RS1600 in here with a broken steering.

Crychan North and Cefn brought crews back to Builth for service.

Stokes blitzed the opposition in these two stages, taking a further 20 seconds out of the North Walian to lead by 34 seconds from Lomax with Chris Browne a further ten seconds down in third.

Stage Five in Gwidebog saw another five seconds added to the lead.

The next test was a re-run of the morning Halfway Forest test but just a mile from the end a broken halfshaft brought a fine drive to an end.

Weaver said: “We are absolutely gutted.

“We seemed to have hit some bedrock which snapped the shaft.

“We had backed off slightly as well with such a huge lead,but that’s rallying I’m afraid.”

Browne went on to take a comfortable victory.

The series now moves on to tarmac for two rounds, the first of which is the Ulster in mid-August.