NORTH-EAST rally driver Alun Pearson is determined to hit the road again in style this weekend. Pearson, from Swainby, North Yorkshire, will be competing in the next leg of the 206 Super Cup Rally Championships at Quinton, mid-Wales.

And the 36-year-old, who is chasing leader Garry Jennings, is convinced that he can bounce back from a freak injury which kept him out of the last race.

Pearson, who is also a keen mountain biker, tumbled off his bike in the Cleveland Hills and broke his collar bone, but he said: "I was only going at walking pace when it happened and it forced me out of the Jim Clark rally in the Scottish Borders. But I'm fit now and I'm hoping to do well at Builth Wells in Wales." Pearson, who owns Nsign in Middlesbrough, competes in the Peugeot 1600cc Group A class car and is sponsored by Arriva in Stockton and Middlesbrough, as well as City Centre Training in Darlington and Mandale.

Before the season started he harboured hopes of clinching the title. But now he, and his navigator Simon Brook, will be happy with success in the remaining four races.

"I thought before I could have won it to be honest," said Pearson. "But with my injury and the time penalties I suffered at Dumfries, I am now just looking to go for it in the next few races. I have got Ulster and France still to come and both should be good races."