THE Worcestershire rally crew of Mic O'Brien and Matt Pearce were moments from total disaster on the Somerset Stages.

The team again used O'Brien's WRC Ford Focus which had been tested with the help of British champion David Higgins.

But their latest event could not have got off to a worse start or so O'Brien and Sixty and Worcestershire Motor Club member Pearce thought.

The electronic gear change system failed as they left the start of the first stage, meaning they could not change properly.

The problem got worse over the next mile and finally left the car stuck in first gear after a tight hairpin.

They pulled over and reverted to the manual gear change, achieved by pulling out a pin on the shift system and some electronic changes.

But the situation went from bad to a near disaster as Pearce noticed smoke billowing from the centre console.

It is thought that a hydraulic pipe split was spraying fluid onto the hot exhaust.

By now, the consule was well ablaze and the crew attempted to put the fire out using the on-board extinguishers.

This was unsuccessful so they flagged down the next two cars and used their fire extinguishers. It took a total of six extinguishers to dowse the flames.

Pearce said "To be honest, I really thought the whole car was going to be lost.

"It's not a nice feeling standing watching a £200,000 World Rally car well on fire and all you have are empty extinguishers."

The team are waiting for an assessment of the damage before they decide whether to do the next round of the championship and how the rest of the season will take shape.

Meanwhile, Sixty and Worcestershire Motor Club are trying to attract new members.

They have reduced their fees to all new members down to £5 per year to make the club one of the cheapest in England.

The club want people interested in motorsport, not only from a competition aspect but also from the marshalling and organisation side.

They will be running a number of grass-roots events during the year so new members do not have to have a prepared car or big budget.

A regular meeting is held every Tuesday at the Huntsman Inn, Green Street, Kempsey, and prospective members are most welcome to come along.

More details are available from membership secretary Kevin Bowcott on 01905-353462.