Kingston businessman Tony Jardine crashed out on stage nine of the Artic Lapland Rally last weekend.

Jardine, partnered by Des Kelly, ploughed his RAC Auto Windscreens MG ZR into a snow bank.

The pair had been moving steadily up the field on day two of the FIA European Championship open.

Jardine said: "The weather conditions were perfect, but the blizzards of the previous night meant the snow banks were even softer than during the earlier stages.

"With the Russian team on a charge behind us, we were were looking for a suitable place to let him pass when we got sucked into the bank. I took my eye off the line for a split second, went a foot too wide and paid the price."

The next outing for Jardine and his Longbridge-run MG ZR will be the opening round of the National Rally Championship, Bournemouth's Rally Sunseeker in February.

January 29, 2003 10:00