It was a very good weekend for three local co-drivers rallying in three different countries. David Higgins and Craig Drew got their Rally America championship campaign back on track with what looked on paper like an easy victory on the Oregan Trail Rally last weekend. The Team Subaru USA Impreza got off to a bad start with steering problems on Friday's opening leg, then on the opening 15-mile stage on Saturday morning, the duo picked up a puncture a mile in to the test. They decided to carry on despite totally destroying the wheel and tyre. They only dropped just over a minute, but the problems didn't stop there – the gear indicator light and Craig's computer stopped working, they then incurred a four-minute penalty for hitting some chicanes made up of orange cones, but this was reduced to 40 seconds after Drew queried the penalty and common sense prevailed. This left the pairing with an awful lot to going into Sunday's final leg to overhaul USA sporting legend Travis Pastrana, but Higgins soon set about reducing the lead and with three stages remaining the gap was just 10 seconds. It was then Pastrana's turn to hit trouble, with his Subaru suffering a double puncture and ending all hopes of holding off the flying Higgins, who cruised the final stage to take a hard fought victory by three minutes 37 seconds from Pastrana. Over in Ireland, Ross Weir teamed up with rallying veteran Guy Woodcock for the first time in his Kuhmo-backed Escort RS2000 for the Cartel Killarney Rally of the Lakes. The two-day event was not only a round of the Irish Tarmac Championship but also the FIA European Historic series and had attracted a very high quality entry. Fifteen tests lay ahead over some of the classic tarmac stages of Molls Gap, Carragh Lake and Ballachbeema. The duo got off to a good start over the morning loop, holding an impressive second overall in the Irish historics, with the Chester-based driver using all his experience of 500 events in the changeable conditions. The afternoon stages were again trouble-free, despite a spin they arrived back in Killarney still holding a solid second overall. Sunday's loop contained a further eight tests although stages 10 and 11 were sadly cancelled. The duo were now gelling well and still holding a comfortable second overall, which was maintained through to the finish back in Killarney on Sunday evening. "I am absolutely knackered but delighted with the result, it's been great fun," said Ross. "This event makes Rally Barbados look like a walk in the park, it was hard graft but well worth it." Finally, back in England, Simon Tysoe and Cliffy Simmons continued their recent good form with a fine third overall, second in class on the Pirelli Historic Cup, the latest round of the Mintex BHRC Historic championship. Fifty-five miles of the infamous Keilder Forest were on offer and the Escort RS1600 never missed a beat all day.