SOUTHAMPTON rally driver Steve Hendy is this week celebrating success after winning the 2002 National Tarmac Rally Championship.

The Ford dealer picked up five maximum scores during the season to win his first national title and is delighted to be champion.

The final rounds on the military ranges of Otterburn in Northumberland proved a tense affair for Steve and co-driver Aled Davies.

"We needed to win our class to clinch the championship but I had never been to the venue before and local knowledge can be a decisive factor," said Steve.

A recce over the stages gave the pair an insight into the job ahead and all was going to plan until the pair were just three stages from the finish.

"The anti-rollbar snapped on the Escort Cosworth and we were hurtling backwards down the stage and into a ditch," said Steve. "I thought the worst but we managed to get out and had to drive another stage steadily with the damage."

Steve is now considering plans for next year and a possible defence on the title but said he would certainly be back in action next February for his home event - the Sunseeker Winter Rally in Bournemouth.