CARNFORTH'S Ian Joel last weekend took third place on the Somerset Stages which is the fourth round in the national B.T.R.D.A. Series.

The hybrid Peugeot Cosworth of Andy Burton was the first to come across the snow on the first stage but this didn't seem to cause any problems and he lead the field from there on in opening up over half a minute cushion over the rest of the event.

After a minor hiccup on the opening stages Joel and regular co-driver Graeme Wood settled into their usual rhythm and were pleased to finish in 3rd place in the Chris Allen Garages supported Escort Cosworth 4x4.

A third of the way through the season, the Carnforth based team have scored well on all the early rounds and are looking forward to the luxury of being able to count better scores when they come to their traditionally better scoring events later in the year.