A KIRKBY Lonsdale Rally Driver found great success when he took part in the King of the Hill race in Barbados.

Philip Burton of Kirkby Motors took part in the racing events with co-driver Dylan Thomas on May 29 and finished 30th overall by the end, whilst also being the top British team to finish.

However, his 1976 Mk 2 Ford Escort, better known as “Lorna Lou”, suffered from overheating during the event before going on to the main event on June 4 and 5.

During the 7th of the 8 stages, the car developed a fault when the axle brackets. An issue that was later fixed by Philip’s friend Norman Catwell.

Once the car was repaired, they went on to complete all eight stages in fourth place and being the first British crew to get the job done.

Philip said: “It was a brilliant time and it’s so great to be back in action again.

“The car had some overheating issues but we slowly got on top of that.

“The weather was against us as it was very wet and slippy.

“On the Saturday when we were got to the 7th of eight stages, the tire went and the car spun and we completely wiped out an electric box. It knocked the electricity from the area out for a few hours.

“We had some exhaust damage.

“Two brackets on the rear axel sheered off and that was us grounded to a halt.

“Norman is a local guy and a close friend, and at 2am he met up with us and got it ready for Sunday. We’re really grateful to him. Couldn’t have finished without him.

“The family was there to support me and it was an all-round great team effort.

“After it was done, we had a little holiday after that. Without the local support it wouldn’t have been possible.”