BOURNEMOUTH rally driver Steve Hendy got his Belgian National Rally Championship underway on one of the toughest events of the season - the East Belgian Rally - where he notched up a top 10 finish.

However, it could have been better as treacherous weather conditions caught out the double national tarmac champion.

Following the two-day rally, Hendy said: "We were looking at a top five finish at one point but spun on the final stage. We got stuck and lost so much time, but we are happy to have finished eighth overall and more importantly second in the Group A category.

"That was an extremely tough event.

"We completed nearly 250 competitive stage kilometres together with some long road sections linking the stages.'' Hendy and co-driver Aled Davies had a technical trouble-free drive in Hankook-shod Ford Focus WRC that never missed a beat all weekend.

Having decided last season not to compete in Britain but to switch his attention to Europe, he returns to Belgium next month for the TAC Rally. Based in Tielt, it is another two-day event and gets underway on April 5.

BRIGGS IN NINTH

FERNDOWN'S Dave Briggs opened his 2008 account in the Pickup Truck Racing Championship by leaving Brands Hatch in ninth overall after the first two races.

In the first encounter, Briggs started from the fifth row of the grid but was quickly pushed from behind at the start which spun him off the track.

With most of the field passing him, Briggs rejoined at the tail end of the top 20 and then started a steady recovery drive during which he moved up to 12th with the chequered flag in sight. This became 11th after the truck in front suffered a puncture.

In race two, Briggs was among the front runners and challenging for fourth in the early laps when he suffered a bump which dropped him down the order to 10th leaving him to battle back to sixth at the end of the shortened 12-lapper.

MIXED FORTUNE

VOLKSWAGEN Golf racer Adrian Dziurzynski suffered mixed fortune on his first outing of the season at Oulton Park at the weekend when conditions varied from brilliant sunshine to torrential rain and sleet.

In the opening race Bournemouth-based Dziurzynski started from the middle of the pack and then benefited as those who had gambled on slick tyres in changeable conditions slipped back.

The Dorset driver eventually worked his way up to sixth, 15 seconds behind the winning Golf GTi.

Dziurzynski's Exeter-based brother Alex, who had grabbed pole position in his Volkswagen Corrado, was one of those whose slick tyre gamble failed as he crashed out of the race.

In race two, which was hit by sleet flurries after just three laps, Adrian was up to second when he suffered a mechanical problem that sidelined him a few laps later.

MAD MARCH SLALOM

BOURNEMOUTH and District Car Club runs its traditional Mad March Slalom at Matchams Leisure Park on Sunday. Starting at 10.30am, entrants will be competing against the clock in five classes ranging from up to 1300cc cars to specials and kit cars.