BLACKBURN rally driver Nigel Worswick was robbed of a class victory in the prestigious Rally Barbados by a ‘bizarre’ ruling.

Worswick and co-driver Lindsey Pilkington were among 87 crews from 14 nations who headed to the Caribbean for the event where they finished 26th overall an fifth in class in their Worswick Engineering Ford Escort Mk2.

Worswick said: “After completing all the stages we were third in class but a couple of other competitors, who had missed stages and been given notional times, were ranked ahead of us in the final results.

“I was particularly sorry for Lindsey who did a brilliant job coping with maps that weren’t accurate, by our standards, and a road book that contained numerous errors. She deserved to win an award but was robbed of one by the bizarre rules.”

Over 20,000 motorsport fans packed on to the island to watch the two-day event.

Prior to the start Worswick and Pilkington spent two full days recceing the stages and preparing pacenotes in preparation for what lay ahead.

Worswick has vowed to make the Transatlantic trip next year and said: “Next time we’ll have a service crew. We had to do everything ourselves, and the tight schedule meant we were always on the go.

"It was like a day on the old Lombard RAC Rally except for the heat and humidity!

“Fortunately the car ran like clockwork and I only had to change the brake pads.”