A LITTLE Lever driving enthusiast who turned his idea into a reality by establishing an annual motor racing championship has seen it go from strength to strength.

Darren Spann, whose full time job is somewhat more sedate as a project co-ordinator for the Canal and River Trust, will launch the fourth all action season of the Neil Howard Stages at Oulton Park next weekend.

Darren, who is the clerk of the course at Oulton Park, conceived the idea of an out-of-season championship at the Cheshire circuit and found that sponsors were just as keen to make it part of the calendar.

Since then, the circuit has become one of the mainstay homes to the MSN Circuit Rally Championship.

Darren, who is now the championship co-ordinator and also a member of the Bolton-Le-Moor Car Club, explained: “I was the clerk to the Oulton Park course and it was obviously the next step to take given how successful it has been.”

After launching his idea to stage it at Oulton Park, he managed to get the backing of a number of major sponsors and the support of partners, including Motorsport News and Motorsport Vision Racing.

He said: “It’s remarkable how far we have come, because in the first year I thought it would attract 30 to 40 entries and the aim was to create a championship and to embrace what we already had at Oulton Park and to make use of the circuit out of season.

“The growth of the championship is absolutely phenomenal with 120 entries this season and full blown TV coverage to boot. It’s incredible”

Next weekend’s race is likely to see the return of Blackrod’s Mark Kelly, who finished runner up on last year’s championship and the return of motor sport legend Dave Richards, who will line up in Cheshire.