Steve Long and Wendy Gibson have taken a well deserved class win in the BMW Beginners Championship on 7 May.

On a rally so rain-soaked that even gravel tyres could barely cope, SS1 was hairy but the results for the dynamic duo good. The pair were going well on SS2 as well when the jarring from a big bump dislodged the fuel relay: it cost them a full minute to find and fix the fault - and Steve then promptly spun hurrying to make up time! The next three stages, however, were trouble free, and they went into the final stage with a healthy lead of 1:34 minutes over the next in competitor in their class.

For a moment mid-stage, it almost all fell apart when the car hit a huge patch of standing water at nearly 90 mph and aqua-planed into the landscape, Steve a passenger at the wheel. The car, and Steve's and Wendy's nerve, survived - though several other cars behind them did not - and their initial cushion was still enough to give them First in Class, with Wendy also second female co-driver overall in the rally.

Their next rally is the Mid-Wales Rally on 23 June - a great spectator event.