Penrith-born driver rally driver Frank Bird claimed victory at the weekend in the Roberts Garages Jersey Rally by nearly two and a half minutes after a four month break from racing. 

Accompanied by Lake District-based co-driver Jack Morton, Mr Bird marked a return to racing in his Ford Fiesta Rally2 with a runaway victory in the Channel Islands. 

Reflecting on his successes, Mr Bird commented on the unique challenge posed by the narrown, winding roads on the Channel Island.

He said: "We’ve had a top weekend at the Jersey rally. These were some of the most challenging roads I’ve ever driven on, so I was just happy to get to the finish and to win on my first time here was the icing on the cake.

"It was such a demanding two days with 26 stages that were only just wide enough for the car in places."

Over the summer Mr Bird had raced in Germany and Barbados and his reintroduction to the sport was not straghtforward with problems hindering the pairs progress on the opening day, but impressive driving from Mr Bird ensured him comeback victory on the final day.