Mark Sumpter and Mike Jordan got their 2003 international racing programme off to a solid start in round one of the FIA GT Championship at Barcelona.

Despite a fuel pump problem that forced them to make more pit stops than expected, the pair finished an encouraging ninth in the N-GT class.

Without the problem, a top six finish was well within reach.

With support from Paragon Porsche and John Guest, Sumpter and Jordan are competing in the most important and most competitive GT championship in the world in their Porsche 911GT3RS.

Sumpter, from Five Ashes in East Sussex, said: "It was absolutely brilliant. It was great just to be a part of it all and I'm really pleased that we've got the first race under our belt without any major dramas."

The second round of the championship is at Magny Cours (France) on April 27.

Haywards Heath rookie racer Dan Taylor made an impressive debut in the Volkswagen Racing Cup at Rockingham. The 20-year-old picked up a brace of top-seven results in the opening rounds of the championship.

At the wheel of his KG Norman-backed Vento VR6, Taylor qualified tenth on the grid and drove a steady race in the opening encounter to claim sixth spot. In race two he finished in seventh position and his performances earned him the coveted Autosport Driver of the Day award.

Also in action at Rockingham was Northiam's Craig Inskip. Transmission gremlins put him out of race one but he finished eighth in race two, having been up to sixth place before a misfire set in towards the end.

In the Catherham Roadsports Championship, Richard Williams (Groombridge) finished second in the first race after a tremendous duel with London driver Dominic Paul. In the second race, though, Williams qualified in pole position and went on to claim victory.

Crowborough man Tim Jones finished 14th in both his Radical Sports Car events.