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Kent's Tristan Ovenden, Darren Scott, Rob Maynard and Stuart Emery grab silverware at Lydden Hill's MSA British Rallycross Championship round

Half of the eight Kent racers who entered round two of the MSA British Rallycross Championship at Lydden Hill on Easter Monday walked away with silverware.

In an event attended by thousands of spectators, Canterbury's Tristan Ovenden, Sittingbourne's Darren Scott, Deal's Rob Maynard and Stuart Emery of Faversham all secured podium finishes.

For Emery, it marked a return to form for the Peugeot 206 competitor who guided his UK Battery Sales-backed machine home in second place.

Faversham's Stuart Emery will return. Picture: Joe Wright
Faversham's Stuart Emery will return. Picture: Joe Wright

The SuperNational runner won the title last season but engine failure put him out of the first round at Croft three weeks ago.

After fitting an all-new engine in-between events, Emery bounced back at his home track to take a strong second-place.

He said: "We have got good championship points and my season starts here. We can ignore Croft, that was our drop score.

"The engine seems to work.

Darren Scott leads Tristan Ovenden home in the second heat at Lydden. Picture: Joe Wright
Darren Scott leads Tristan Ovenden home in the second heat at Lydden. Picture: Joe Wright

"I don't want to push it too far and make it unreliable because the thing is we have got to score points at every round now."

Despite securing the runner-up spot, he could not beat Lydden debutant Dan Rooke, 17, who powered his Citroen AX to victory.

Emery, who set the A-Final's fastest lap, added: "I am not overly surprised, I knew he was quick because I knew about his background and have been told he is quick.

Ollie O'Donovan leads Belgian Jos Jansen and Lydden Hill owner Pat Doran in a Supercar heat. Picture: Joe Wright
Ollie O'Donovan leads Belgian Jos Jansen and Lydden Hill owner Pat Doran in a Supercar heat. Picture: Joe Wright

"I made one mistake on the last lap at Chessons when he came out of the joker lap and that was probably my only opportunity to get him."

Canterbury's Tristan Ovenden continued his winning streak in the Swift Sport Rallycross Championship.

The 40-year-old, who won the title last season, earned pole position for the A-Final after topping the time sheets in heats one and three, while finishing fourth in the second.

Tristan Ovenden at speed at Lydden on Easter Monday. Picture: Joe Wright
Tristan Ovenden at speed at Lydden on Easter Monday. Picture: Joe Wright

He took a commanding win in the A-Final, leading home Scott and Maynard.

Ovenden said: "It's always nice to get the home win.

"The car has been good. The second heat was a bit tricky but when you start at the back that's how it is.

"We have a lot of people here who we bring along so you really want to win it and it was a Kent one-two-three - the Kent drivers are on it!"

Lydden Hill owner Pat Doran kicks up the gravel at Chessons. Picture: Joe Wright
Lydden Hill owner Pat Doran kicks up the gravel at Chessons. Picture: Joe Wright

Sittingbourne's Darren Scott has now scored back-to-back second-place finishes after a "brilliant" day at Lydden.

The 32-year-old Swift Sport Rallycross Championship competitor followed Ovenden across the line in the A-Final, in a carbon copy of the first round result.

Scott, who has competed in the championship since 2010, is targeting the title this year and finished second in the times in the first heat.

He dropped to third in the times in the second and repeated that in the third - setting times good enough for second on the A-Final grid.

After making a small error in the joker lap section during the final, Scott briefly dropped to third but quickly forced Maynard into a mistake to retake second.

Rob Maynard leads Aidan Hills into Paddock bend. Picture: Joe Wright
Rob Maynard leads Aidan Hills into Paddock bend. Picture: Joe Wright

He stayed there until the flag, following Ovenden home.

Scott said post race: "I could have caught Tristan but I went into the joker lap way too quickly and clipped the barrier coming back out.

"But to be honest to have had two heat wins, a third and to come second in the final is a brilliant weekend.

"There were no dramas on the car and it's been spot on all day."

Deal's Rob Maynard was another delighted Kent-based Swift Sport Rallycross Championship competitor to return to the podium at Lydden.

The 38-year-old product manager joined 16 Suzuki Swifts and put in a solid performance to claim third place.

Gary Simpson slides his BMW ahead of Stuart Emery and Allan Tapscott in SuperNational. Picture: Joe Wright
Gary Simpson slides his BMW ahead of Stuart Emery and Allan Tapscott in SuperNational. Picture: Joe Wright

Maynard, now into his third year of competing, finished fourth in the times in the first heat.

He improved in the second heat, taking second place behind Aidan Hills, before returning to fourth in the third and final heat.

After three solid heats, Maynard started the final from the front row and eventually followed Ovenden and Scott across the line in third.

He said post race: "It's my first podium since this event last year so I'm making an anniversary of it!

"To be third out of 16 makes it sweeter.

Pluckey's Nathan Heathcote rounds the North Bend hairpin. Picture: Joe Wright
Pluckey's Nathan Heathcote rounds the North Bend hairpin. Picture: Joe Wright

"I came here to get a podium and I can't quite believe that I did it."

Pluckley teenager Nathan Heathcote was left disappointed after bad luck blighted his first British Rallycross event at Lydden.

The 18-year-old, who was entering his fourth meeting in the Swift Sport Rallycross Championship, couldn't repeat his podium finish from the round one at the Croft circuit in North Yorkshire three weeks ago.

The former kart racer was competing at the one-mile Canterbury track for the first time and showed good outright pace.

"I came here to get a podium and I can't quite believe that I did it..." - Rob Maynard

He finished sixth in the times in heat one, before retiring from heat two but he improved to take fifth in the third and final heat.

He eventually finished third in the B-Final behind Jake Taylor and Adam Weaver.

Heathcote said post race: "It was my fourth event and it was a bit disappointing.

"I've been down here to watch before and it's a really good track. It was my first time on this track and I had good pace but was unfortunate with a lot of things."

Meanwhile, Canterbury's Darren Clark endured mechanical troubles with his Nissan Almera but fellow city resident Nick Potter picked up second place in the Super 1600 class aboard his Citroen Saxo.

Andy Scott won the event aboard his Albatec Racing Peugeot 208. Picture: Joe Wright
Andy Scott won the event aboard his Albatec Racing Peugeot 208. Picture: Joe Wright

Sittingbourne's Paul Maybourne finished fifth in Hot Hatch aboard another Citroen Saxo.

For a full MSA British Rallycross Championship event report from Lydden, see this week's Kentish Gazette and East Kent Mercury.

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