WIMBORNE'S Tim Stevens took another step closer to the 2003 Gurston Down hillclimb title on Sunday when he got within two-tenths of his own class record.

Stevens, in his 1800cc Lotus Exige, stopped the clock in 35.60 seconds to increase his advantage at the top of the standings to more than two points with a round to go and dropped scores to be taken into account.

Although everyone else is already proclaiming Stevens as champion, he is not taking anything for granted and says he will be back in September for the final round of the Gates of Brockenhurst backed championship.

After finishing third overall last year Stevens says the only change to the Exige for 2003 was some work on the engine which increase the power to 210bhp. What will be worrying his rivals is that he is also looking at fitting a limited slip differential and slick tyres to go even faster.

His main rival remains Abingdon's Steve Butts who drives a Lotus Elise in the same Modified Production Marque Sports Cars class. Butts was more than a second slower on Sunday.

There was more success for local drivers at Gurston, led by New Milton's Ian Chard who set the fastest time in practice with his 1600cc DJ Firehawk and then won the up to 1600cc Racing Cars division by half a second from the OMS 2000M of Peter Sexton from Lymington.

In the timed runs the only man to go quicker than Chard was Top Ten challenge leader Nik Gregory who was a mere one-hundredth of a second quicker up the 1,057-yard track in his more powerful 4-litre Pilbeam MP58/03.

Third quickest time was set by Basil Pitt from Ferndown in his 2-litre Pilbeam MP87-01, three-tenths behind the others - this has moved him up to fourth overall in the championship.

Pitt was fresh from having set a new hill record the day before at Castle Hill, Bodmin, where he broke the previous best twice.

Other class winners at Gurston included Ben Stapley from Castle Carey in his Datsun 240Z (Modified Production Marque Sports Cars over 2-litres), Rob Barksfield from Corfe Mullen in his sub-30 second PCD Saxon (up to 1600cc Racing Cars), and Richard Hillyar from New Milton in his Renault 21 (over 2-litre Modified Production Saloons) who was helped when his main rival crashed.

There was as last-minute victory in the up to 2-litre Modified Production Sports Cars division for Poole's Andrew Forsyth (Westfield SEi) who edged out first run leader and hill sponsor Jonathan Gates (Lymington).

Best scrap of the day was in the up to 1400cc Modified Saloon section where Cranborne's Steve Harris in his Austin Mini led after the first runs only to be overtaken by two-tenths by arch-rival Derek Mullis from Yeovil with the last run of the class.

Bournemouth's Andrew Crump (Ford Escort) also had to settle for second in the up to 2-litre Modified Saloons when the RS2000 of former champion Mike Rudge was a second quicker.

And there was a third place for Poole's John Forsyth in the over 2-litre Racing Cars with his ever improving Maco 802R - Forsyth having cured a recent problem with a sticking throttle.

Not everyone tasted success, Malcolm Preedy from Lytchett took his Westfield home in a rather sorry state after getting out of shape at the bottom of the hill and crashing at Hallow Bend.

"I set my fastest time of the year through the speed trap at 96mph and then I put it on the grass and things started to break - there is a lot of damage," said Preedy who walked away with nothing worse than a stiff neck.

l The third round of the Matchams Kart Championship was a busy day with the ranks swelled with novices, visitors and a few old members returning.

In the Cadets, James Raven from Portsmouth won all three heats to take pole for the finale and then didn't put a wheel wrong from flag to flag with main rival David Mack from Poole behind him. An excellent drive from Jack Mayle from Basingstoke saw him finish third.

The 100 Clubman class saw the biggest grid of the day. A second place in the heats for Bournemouth's Clive Jackson was translated into a win in the final following the demise of several of his rivals in the accident-prone heats.

Second place went to heat one winner Rob White (Tuckton), with Darren Civil (Waterlooville) in third.

The Pro-Kart class saw a new face in the form of the club secretary's wife, Maggie Aldwell from Poole. The racing was as close and competitive as ever, with a heat win for Chris Aldwell (Poole) being followed by two wins for Kevin Mathers from Alderholt.

In the final Mathers held off the hard charging Aldwell.

The slim 125 Rotax class saw reigning champion James Pardon from Sherbourne win the first heat while Daniel Palmer from Fordingbridge won the next two and took the pole for the final, with Alex Green (Wimborne) in second and Pardon in third. That was how they crossed both the start line and the chequered flag, after a fast and thrilling final.

FIXTURES - Tomorrow: Ringwood Raceway - Grand Prix Midgets British Championship, Group A Hot Rods, Sprint Cars and Unlimited Bangers (7.30pm)

Monday: Bournemouth Flying Club, Hurn - Bournemouth & District Car Club Meeting (9pm)

Wednesday: Ringwood Raceway - 1300 Stock Cars, Superstocks, Ringwood Rookies (8pm)