THE Riponian Rally will have a distinctly international flavour with the inclusion of an Italian competitor among the entries for Sunday's event.

Co-driver Marco Ercole contests the Ripon MSC-organised event alongside Northallerton businessman Steve Smith in their Walkers Garage Lancia Delta Integrale.

The 43-year-old from Turin owns the Tecno 2 spares and performance parts business, with former British national rally champion Smith acting as the UK distributor through his operation at South Otterington.

Between them, the pair bring plenty of international experience to the rally, which is sponsored by Ripon Land Rover.

Ercole has competed in no less than 123 events, winning 25 of them, in places as far afield as Greece, France and Finland as well as in his home country.

He won the Italian national championship in 1985 and 1989, but the Riponian will be his first rally in the UK and he's looking forward to it.

He said: "I have a lot to learn as there are no pacenotes for this rally and I will have to use maps, which will be unusual for me".

Ercole, who has been guided by top co-driver and Tecno 2 manager John Richardson, from Northallerton, added: "I hope to remember my left from my right and then maybe Steve will understand and trust me.

"I am not worried if there is snow like there was last year as I have done lots of events in those conditions, some even driving, but the tracks in England are a lot narrower. Maybe we will just drive for fun, but I hope we can try to win and I'm sure it will be very enjoyable".

Smith, a regular top finisher on the RAC Rally in his ex-Juha Kankkunen Lancia, was confident that the pairing would work well.

He said: "Marco speaks very good English and is very experienced so I have every confidence in him doing a good job in the car. I just hope that I can drive fast enough for him as I've not done a rally for over a year".

Smith and Ercole will be joined by around 80 other crews for the popular event, which forms a qualifying round for both the ANCC and ANECCC championships.

With the best entry for a number of years in terms of quality, rally fans are in for a feast in the first forest event of the season.

Charlie Payne and Craig Thorley, winners for the past two years, will lead the cars away from the 9am start on the outskirts of the city. The local dairyman and the York travel agent will be aiming for the hat-trick in their MSR Mitsubishi Lancer after a superb result 12 months ago, when heavy snow wreaked havoc.

Payne has not driven competitively since taking a top 30 placing on the Network Q Rally of Great Britain last year, when Thorley won the prestigious Group N class with driver David Higgins.

Last year's runners-up Tony Bardy and Tony Walker have been seeded at number two in their four-wheel drive Nissan Sunny and the Scotch Corner driver's rallycross experience is sure to stand him in good stead on the short stages as he scents his maiden rally win.

Nottingham raiders Dave Wood and Les Waterfall, third last year, will leave at number three on their traditional sortie north in their Subaru.

Smith and Ercole are seeded seven, just ahead of another former winner, Matt Yeadon from Pickhill. He teams up at number eight with Boltby's Richard Shores in the WRC specification Nu Era Ford Cosworth.

Shildon driver Barry Johnson and co-driver Peter Croft from Middleton Tyas start at number nine in their Barrier-backed Subaru after taking a hired Mitsubishi to sixth overall last year.

Superbike team owner Paul Bird from Penrith, seeded 11, has hired the ex-Steve Petch Mintex national championship winning Ford Escort WRC for the event and will be hoping the extra power will propel himself and Northallerton co-driver Ian Windress to a better result than his seventh place finish last year in a Group N Subaru.

Completing the top 12 is the Bedale crew of Bryan Gill and Jonathan Bean, who return from a year's sabbatical in their John Gill Escort Cosworth in a bid to improve on the two runner-up positions they have managed in the past.

Middleham brothers Stuart and John Adamson will be out in their revamped Millington-engined Ford Escort Mk 2, as will Crakehall's Richard Welford, who gives the Masham Sausage Shop Escort Cosworth it's debut on gravel.

One crew which always tends to upset the odds on the event are the Bedale pairing of Jonathan Kitchen and Nigel Bennett, who finished an amazing eighth overall last year in their 1600cc Mk 2 Escort, while Northallerton's Charlie Taylor and Murray Foster will be hoping for success in their two-litre version.

Thirsk builder Ian Rudd and co-driver Steve Bielby will be out in their Sapphire Cosworth and can expect tough competition from Hunton brothers Paul and Mark Lawson in their Escort Cosworth.

Lealholm's Nick Cook should go well in his ex-Richard Pocklington Escort, while the Ripon contingent of Glen Workman (Talbot), Mally Norris (Escort Mk2) and the Mk1 of Chris Wise will be looking for a good showing on their local rally.

In the smaller classes, Swainby's Alun Pearson will be hoping for class honours in his Nova, as will Stokesley's Jonathon Brown in a similar car. Look out too for Simon Rippon's Astra (Darlington) and Stephen Petch Junior from Scorton in his Ford Ka.

Top 20 entries. - 1 C Payne/C Thorley, Ripon, Mitsubishi Lancer; 2 T Bardy/T Walker, Scotch Corner, Nissan Sunny GTI-R; 3 D Wood/L Waterfall, Nottingham, Subaru Impreza; 4 T Davies/J Kitson, South Wales, MG Metro 6R4; 5 J Thompson/I Oakey, Clitheroe, Ford Escort Cosworth; 6 D Jenkin/I Bass, Lincs, Ford Escort Cosworth; 7 S Smith/M Ercole, South Otterington, Lancia Delta Integrale; 8 M Yeadon/R Shores, Pickhill, Ford Cosworth; 9 B Johnson/P Croft, Shildon, Subaru Impreza; 10 C Guy/N Dashfield, Edinburgh, Mitsubishi Lancer; 11 P Bird/I Windress, Penrith, Ford Escort WRC; 12 B Gill/J Bean, Bedale, Ford Escort Cosworth; 14 M Perrott/G Mansell, Leominster, Ford Escort WRC; 15 S Adamson/J Adamson, Middleham, Ford Escort Mk2; 16 C Leeming/R Guy, Leeds, Ford Escort Mk2; 17 R Welford/L Carter; Crakehall, Ford Escort Cosworth; 18 J Kitchen/N Bennett, Bedale, Ford Escort Mk2; 19 M Glendinning/D Thompson, Newcastle, Subaru Impreza; 20 C Bown/R Bown, Matlock, Mitsubishi Lancer; 21 N Cook/A Grimstone, Whitby, Ford Escort Mk2.

Spectator Information. - Lightwater Valley: 9.18am & 2.48pm, situated four miles north west of Ripon on A6108 Ripon to Masham road. Follow spectator signs into main entrance. Hot drinks and food available all day. Car parking £5 per car.

Wass & College Moor: 11.04am & 1.12pm, follow A170 from Thirsk to Helmsley. Stages just to the east of Sutton Bank at Tom Smith's Cross. Park in Forest Enterprise car park and walk to stages. No parking on main roads. Cost £3 per car.

An interesting development between the Lightwater Valley stages will be the filming of a safety video by the sport's governing body, the Motor Sports Association.

As part of their ongoing safety policy they are reviewing training requirements and safety specifications and have chosen the Riponian as an ideal event to show how spectator safety should be handled.

Spectators may be asked to volunteer as film extras during the filming between the stages, which will form the opening and closing stages of the event