Roger Chilman and co-driver Brian Thomas totally dominated Sixty & Worcestershire Motor Club's Woodpecker Stages in the Securcom/ Kuhmo Tyres Subaru S9 WRC, their third outright win of the year.

They now need to win the final round in North Wales to lift the BTRDA title.

The Ludlow-based event, the penultimate round of BTRDA and both Welsh championships, offered the 135 crews 42 miles in just six stages.

Chilman opened up a two second lead on the short opening Wigmore test over rival Hugh Hunter's Focus WRC.

From then on he increased his lead with five fastest times, to lead by 14 seconds going into the final nine-mile Haye Park test.

It was Hunter who topped the time sheets just two seconds quicker than Chilman, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Subaru driver from taking a worthy victory.

"It's been a brilliant day, no problems apart from we lost the intercom after four miles of the last stage,so it was difficult,"said Chilman.

"I still had to push, luckily I know the stage well enough and we only dropped two to Hugh.

"It's been a fantastic battle, I have been trying to win this rally for seven years.

"I am over the moon, but to win the championship I must win the Cambrian, which is in Hugh's neck of the woods, but we'll go their and go for it."

Ross-based Paul Morris co-drove Paul Davy to 12th overall, sixth in class in the Subaru Impreza.

Another Ross duo Roger Matthews and Mike Jode in the RJ Matthews Transport Escort RS1600 had a trouble free day to finish 36th and sixth in class.

A switch from Pirelli to Dunlop tyres for the final two stages made a big difference to their times and the result leaves them lying second in the Welsh Historic Championship and leading category two with just the Cambrian remaining.

Colin Webb with Matt Rogers in the Forest of Dean Tyres BMW 325 finished 41st, fourth in class, the result securing them the B12 class of the Welsh National Championship, but they had two big moments on stage two and they stopped at the scene of Adrian Allen's big accident on stage four and raised the alarm that medical attention was required.

For more on this report, see page 55 of this week's Beacon (5th September).