PAT Doran made a perfect start to the British Rallycross Championship at the weekend, when he raced to victory in the opening round at Croft in North Yorkshire.

But it was no easy win for the Sittingbourne driver, whose Ford RS200 lost all power-assistance to the steering, causing him to spin out of the first two heats. Nevertheless, he fought back to win the third heat with the fastest time of the day, qualifying on the second row of the grid for the final.

At the start he surged into the lead, and then he successfully fought off a strong challenge from a trio of Irishmen, Dermot Carnegie (Ford Escort WRC), John McCluskey (Peugeot 306) and Lawrence Gibson (MG Metro 6R4) who chased him to the finish.

"I never thought I could win it with the steering problem" said Doran afterwards. "I had a couple of scary moments, but I managed to hang on to the car. Now my arms are really aching."

Doran is determined to maintain his advantage in the championship. Last year he won three rounds of the series but could only finish runner-up in the championship after a transmission problem at the final round.

Now he is looking forward to the next round at his home circuit, Lydden Hill on Easter Monday, April 1.