Barry Lindsay and Caroline Lodge secured their maiden victory last weekend when they took to the wheel of a Ford Fiesta S2000 for the Jack Frost Stages.

The Spadeadam Motor Club members were awarded a prize drive courtesy of PG Petch from last year’s ANECCC Championship which they accepted gratefully, and gleefully.

A last-minute change to the prize on offer saw the pairing take to the wheel of Steve Petch’s very own Fiesta S2000 and the once-in-a-lifetime outing became something clubman Lindsay had only ever dreamed of.

Before the event, the Cumbrians had a few hours to get a feel for the car they would power around the Croft circuit, but nothing would fully prepare them with the Fiesta S2000 being so very different from their trusted Peugeot 206.

As Sunday approached, the pairing were ready for action.

Organised by the Darlington and District Motor Club, the event utilises the racetrack at Croft Circuit near Darlington and often lives up to its name – providing tricky grip levels due to the wintry conditions.

This year would be no different as the opening stages were contested over a considerable layer of frozen snow, before blizzard conditions and more fresh snow blew in at midday.

Showing their pace early on, Lindsay and Lodge set the fastest time through the opening speed test.

When fellow Cumbrian Paul Bird hit clutch problems, the region’s pride was left solely on Lindsay’s shoulders as he did battle for the win with European Rallycross driver Ken Proctor – a man with many Croft victories to his name.

“To go into the final stage just 13 seconds ahead of Proctor was a bit daunting,” said Lindsay after the event.

“People were wishing us good luck, but also telling us not to make a mistake or he’d catch us!”

The pressure was on, and Lindsay misjudged the braking point into a slippery corner, sliding wide and having to reverse from a large bale defining the corner so as not to damage the borrowed Fiesta.

The car stalled and quickly restarted, but 5-10 seconds had been lost.

Lodge did what she does best and calmed the situation through the remainder of the stage which needed to be absolutely perfect.

Perfect it was, and the pairing only lost one second to their rival, claiming a thoroughly-deserved and hard-fought debut victory by 12 seconds.

“When the car stalled on the last stage I thought that was it,” admitted Lindsay.

“But we did it, we took our first win in this amazing car and I don’t want to let it go!

“We had a fantastic team around us during this great prize drive and we need to say a massive thank you to SG Petch for an opportunity which really did deliver so much.”

Other Cumbrians in action at the Jack Frost Stages included Stephen Bethwaite and Ann Foster who finished 44th overall, Andrew and Reg Irving who finished 46th overall, and Nigel and Helen Harkness who came home in 55th place overall.

On the world stage, this weekend will play host to the first round of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship where the M-Sport Ford World Rally team will start their title defence on the wintry roads of Rallye Monte-Carlo.

The prestigious event represents the ultimate challenge with changeable mountain weather bringing unpredictable conditions that can see the crews encounter snow, ice and dry asphalt over the course of a single stage.

Tyre choice can often prove pivotal and the crews will need to decipher the best combination, and often the best compromise, for each individual leg. It is, in essence, the ultimate test of strategy.

“Last year saw us enjoy our most successful season in motorsport and that’s something that we want to see continue in 2018,” said M-Sport team principal Malcolm Wilson.

“The hard work has not stopped and everyone has been working around the clock to ensure that we start our title defence on a high.

“We have completed two comprehensive test sessions and the feeling amongst the team is more determined than ever.

“It might not be possible to make huge gains within the regulations, but we have been working with our partners to enhance what was already an extremely strong package.

“Every team is capable of securing the ultimate prize this year and I am expecting the competition to be closer than ever.

“It’s so difficult to predict who will even come out on top this week, and that in itself is fantastic for the sport.

“In Sébastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans and Bryan Bouffier, we have three very competent and intelligent drivers who are all more than capable of securing a Monte-Carlo victory. That has to be our aim so let’s see what happens.

“Like every rally fan, I am very much looking forward to the start of this exciting new season.”

Also contesting the legendary stages is Carlisle co-driver Scott Martin calling the notes for Irishman Craig Breen aboard their Citroen C3 WRC.

This will be the pairings first outing with a new-generation world rally car at Rallye Monte-Carlo, but Martin remains optimistic.

“We were behind the wheel of the older DS3 last year, but I think we surprised a lot of people. Craig really clicked with the challenges that an event like Monte has to offer and we were able to out-perform a lot of people equipped with the new-generation world rally cars,” said Martin.

“This year, we’ll have our hands on even more horsepower with the C3 WRC and I would say that our confidence is as high as it can be ahead of an event like Monte.

“It’s always something of a lottery and you can never predict what will happen.

“But if we get everything right and put everything we learnt last year into practice, then I see no reason why we can’t be challenging for a good result.”