MINI man Steve Enwtistle gave his Cooper S the perfect send-off by winning its final event, the Northumberland Borders Rally.

Entwistle, from Rishton, is retiring his well-known car from competition to embark on a new project.

“It was the perfect way to sign off. It’s been a fantastic car, finishing all the19 events it started, and collecting two overall wins and four class wins,” said Steve, who is building another Mini rally car for next season.

“I’m converting ‘AYA’ into a road-going Cooper S, so hopefully it should have a quieter life from now on.”

Open only to members of the Mini Cooper Register, the Northumberland Borders is a ‘half night’ navigational road rally covering 100 miles of lanes in the Hexham area.

“It was an excellent event, and much better than I expected,” said Steve, who had Bob Hargreaves with him on the maps “Anyone competing with a Mini needs to have a look at this event. If our new car is ready in time we’ll be out again next year.”