Paul 'Surfer' Bourne was in dominant form at the Vaucluse Raceway on Sunday (July 11), when he claimed his first-ever overall win in the Group Winners Handicap Knockout and further lowered the new lap record he had set at the St Thomas track just three weeks before.

After a delayed start, while the track dried out after heavy overnight rain, there was time for only two qualifying runs for the fourth round of the 2004 Vaucluse Raceway RallySprint Cup. Bourne (Banks/Havoline/Williams Industries/Pirelli Subaru Impreza WRC) was fastest of the 36-strong entry in both runs . . . but he still looked set to face tough competition.

Roger 'The Sheriff' Skeete (Havoline/McEnearney Quality/Michelin Ford Escort WRC) emerged from qualifying less than one second shy of Bourne's time - 2m 14.02s compared with 2m 13.14s - so a close battle for the Group was in prospect. And so it turned out.

In the heats, Bourne defeated Sean Dowding (Pro Pac/Globe Finance Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V) while Skeete (right) overcame Nicholas Gill (Quality Motors Mazda 323 4x4) to set up the Group final between the two experienced contenders. It was a close-run thing, with Skeete putting in a very strong run, but Bourne claimed the Group win for the second event in a row.

And that propelled him into the Group Winners Handicap KnockOut; first, he faced Jonathan Still, starting with a 10-second delay. Still's Nescafe/Philips Lighting/Castrol/Crane & Equipment BMW M3 looked set to be a match for the Subaru, but Bourne closed him down in the final two corners. The story was much the same in the semi-final, where Andrew Jones (Total Sport/A P Jones Pharmacy/Southern Surf Hotel Ford Escort MkII) enjoyed a 15-second advantage; Bourne was determined to prevail, and he claimed a new lap record - it now stands at 2m 02.35s - on his way to beating Jones by only a few yards.

And so to the final, where Bourne faced the very determined Adrian Linton (left), who had defeated Kirk Watkins (Toyota Corolla) and Karl Waterman (Toyota Starlet) to reach the final. Driving his Crane & Equipment/Ravensden/AutoZone/Garbage Gobbler Vauxhall Astra GTE, Linton had been attacking the three-kilometre Raceway with real style all day, but even he could not hold off the on-form Bourne, who started this race with a 12-second delay. Bourne crossed the line only a length or so ahead, notching up his first-ever overall win in the Group Winners Handicap KnockOut.

It had been a day of close competition within the Groups, Rhett Watson claiming his first VRW Group win, defeating Ryan Wood (Toyota Starlet) in his heat, then Matthew Staffner (Toyota Corolla) in the final. Watson was to miss the Handicap, however, after brother Logan - surprise overall winner of the Handicap last month - rolled the shared Tropical Landscapes Ford Escort in the final of his Group. Watson was uninjured, but the brothers will be looking for a new shell for the Escort.

Sean Corbin (Toyota Starlet) won his Group for the second event in a row, once again defeating brother Ryan (Peugeot 106XSi); Waterman had defeated Graham Gittens (Toyota Starlet) in the final of his Group, while Linton's Group win came over Edward Corbin (Toyota Corolla) in a close-fought final.

James Betts (Toyota Corolla) (right) defeated veteran Freddie Gale (Toyota Starlet Turbo) for victory in his Group, while Watkins had to fiught hard for his Group win against a very determined Ian Warren (Toyota Corolla). Returning to VRW for the first time since last year, Adam Alleyne (Toyota Starlet) had a slightly easier time of it against track debutante Neil Corbin (Toyota Starlet).

Both Still and Jones were released of all pressure in their Group finals, Still after the throttle cable of Reggie Gill's Opel Manta had snapped coming off the start pad, while Jones benefited from Logan Watson's accident in the Escort.

The final round of the 2004 Vaucluse Raceway RallySprint Cup will be staged at the St Thomas facility on Sunday, August 8.