Saltash rally driver Alan Cookson and London co driver Julian Wilkinson survived an encounter with a cavernous Kielder Forest ditch to reach the finish of the Pirelli Tour of Cumbria in a battling sixteenth place today.

Driving the Robert Wiseman Dairies, Kick Energy, GillettsSpar.com, Kumho Tyres, Riverside Property Services and Olverelectrical.com supported Subaru WRC, the pair went off on one of the day's early stages where they remained in the ditch for over twenty minutes.

Thinking their rally was over, they were surprised when one of the competitors on the Land Rover Rally, which followed the main event, kindly stopped and towed 'Daisy' out of the ditch allowing the pair to continue albeit well down the order and within a minute of going OTL.

Intent on scoring points in his bid for class honours in the 2009 Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Championship, Cookson nursed his battle-scarred car to the finish and in doing so claimed valuable points for the eleventh placed registered competitor which sees him still lead his class.

"God save the Army and all who sail in her!" quipped the Cornwall driver. "We used up all our luck so it was just a case of bringing the car home and salvaging as many points as possible. We have to say a massive thank you to Steve Partridge and Adam Entwhistle for stopping and pulling us out. It's free beer for them tonight!"

Alan will next be in action on the Manx Telecom Rally which takes place on the Isle of Man on 8th/9th May.

Results
1, Marcus Dodd/Andrew Bargery - Hyundai Accent WRC - 0:49:45.2
2, Paul Bird/Ian Windress - Ford Focus WRC07 - 0:49:49.8
3, Steve Perez/Paul Spooner - Ford Focus WRC07 - 0:49:55.5
4, Simon Hughes/Craig Parry - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9 - 0:51:07.8
5, Daniel Barry/Martin Brady - Mitsubishi Lancer - 0:51:44.7
6, Nik Elsmore/Craig Drew - Mitsubishi Evo9 - 0:52:06.4
7, Owen Murphy/Dai Roberts - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9  0:53:32.7
8, Steve Bannister/Louise Sutherland - Ford Escort II - 0:56:00.7
9, Jeff McNeil/Fred Roberts - Subaru Impreza - 0:56:25.7
10, Harry Dodd/Richard Skinner - Hyundai Accent WRC - 0:56:41.5
16, Alan Cookson/Julian Wilkinson - Subaru Impreza WRC - 1:24:13.9

Championship Positions (Provisional)
1, Daniel Barry - 59pts
2, Simon Hughes - 57pts
3, Marcus Dodd - 51pts
4, Nik Elsmore - 49pts
5, Owen Murphy - 47pts
6, Alan Cookson - 45pts
7, Alan Carmichael - 43pts
=, Steve Perez - 43pts
=, Paul Bird - 43pts
10, Sean Devine - 25ptsResults