Tempest Rally showdown

Tempest Rally provides BRC showdown

The stage is set for the finale of this year's Kwik-Fit Pirelli British Rally Championship which takes place on the Hampshire/Surrey border this weekend.

The high speed action gets underway on Bonfire Night with three dramatic night-time stages before a full day of rallying on Saturday.

Up for grabs are three key titles while competitors throughout the field will be looking to settle class results as the season reaches its climax.

Organisers have attracted almost 100 entries in either the two-day international event or the one day Clubmans rally, a potent cocktail set to provide a tremendous weekend of entertainment for the thousands of spectators set to descend on the stages.

Leading away the main field will be Mark Higgins in the Eddie Stobart Ford Focus WRC, closely followed by the two drivers bidding for the title of 2004 Kwik-Fit Pirelli British Rally Champion.

David Higgins in the Hyundai Accent and Austin MacHale in a Ford Focus WRC will be battling it out from the first stage in a bid for championship honours after a season-long battle for supremacy.

The title races are still open for the Production Cup and Ladies Title with Scot Lorna Smith hoping to win both honours, but she is facing stiff competition in both categories from the likes of Sebastian Ling, Dorian Rees in the Production Cup and, in the ladies category, Jennie-Lee Hermansson and Kate Heath.

Crews in the Stilo Cup and the MG Rally Scholarship will also be battling for success on the rally which sees a welcome return to the BRC for former British Rally Champion Gwyndaf Evans.

The Welshman will be back behind the wheel of an MG, this time a LeepeckGreenfield supported scholarship car, as part of Gwyndaf's commitment to mentoring the new drivers in the MG scheme.

The event has also attracted entries from British Touring Car driver Rob Collard, and Guy Wilks who has already secured the titles of Super 1600 Rally Champion and the British Juniors title.

International rally competitors will be joined on Saturday morning by crews contesting the Clubmans Rally.

First away will be Phil Morgan in a Subaru Impreza with the strongest competition set to come from the likes of Martin Sansom in a Mitusbishi Evo 7, Guy Anderson and Paul Alexander.

"We have a cracking entry in both events which sets the scene for a tremendous weekend,'' said rally manager Barry Guess. "This is just our third year as part of the British Rally Championship and I'm delighted with the calibre of crews heading to the Tempest Rally.''

He said the spectator stages and service area at Rushmoor Arena near the centre of Aldershot add an extra dimension to the event and provide rally fans with one of the best spectator areas in the UK.

"The ingredients are all there for the perfect finale to the 2004 Kwik-Fit Pirelli British Rally Championship with crews having it all to play for,'' said Barry.

The event gets underway with a spectator stage at Rushmoor Arena in Aldershot at 7pm on Friday November 5.

On Saturday November 6 the Rushmoor Arena hosts three more live stages, a RallyRace Show and spectators will also be able to see the cars close up in the service area.

Entry to Rushmoor Arena is 0x08f5 per person, under 14s go free and there is plenty of free parking.

Organised by the Sutton & Cheam, Middlesex and Hart Motor Clubs the event will be based at the Rushmoor Arena in Aldershot. It will use the classic southern Forest Enterprise stages at Bramshill, Warren Heath and Yateley, and also use areas of military land at Longmoor. Full details are on www.tempestrally.com

-www.tempestrally.com