A young driver from Hexham competed in his first rally event of 2023 event last weekend, finishing first in class. 

Carl Robson travelled to Vale of York Stages Rally organised by Lindholme Motor Sports Club at Melbourne Airfield to compete with co-driver David Robinson in a Class 1 Toyota Yaris on September 10.

The pair were competing for the first time since November 2022 following extensive mechanical improvements to Carl’s Yaris, while it was just the fourth rally of his career.

A capacity 60-strong entry consisting of some extremely competitive cars and crews started rally number 26.

Heavy rain made conditions difficult but an impressive performance in the first two stages, from a total of eight, saw Carl ranked first in his engine class and an amazing 12th overall. 

The track dried up and higher-powered cars soon took advantage, but more flawless driving, including perhaps the best stage of the 24-year-old's career in the penultimate stage, saw him finish 13th overall, securing a class win by 55 seconds. 

Carl's success in the sport is perhaps no surprise when you consider his family history. 

He told the Hexham Courant: "It’s in the blood really. My grandfather was the president of Hexham Motor Club, which I’m a part of now. Both my dad and uncle were into rallying, and both won a lot of rallies locally and nationally.

"When I was three, I started racing motocross on two wheels and I did that until I was about 17/18. And then we decided to change route and start rallying, so here we are.

"Next year we’re hoping to do a full national series. We’ve done a lot of work on the car to make it better and more reliable. Hopefully we will just progress rally by rally and see where it goes."