TONY Bardy will be gunning for a hat-trick of wins when he takes part in the Darlington and District Motor Club-run Altodigital Jack Frost Stages Rally at Croft Circuit on Sunday.

Utilising all of the tarmac roads, the event, which comprises qualifying rounds of the 2006 North of England Stage Rally Championship and the 2006 ANCC Stage Rally Championship, starts at 9.25am and the organisers are aiming for eight stages with at least one running in darkness.

Scotch Corner's Bardy, who was victorious on the recent Specsavers Christmas Stages Rally, teams up with new co-driver Neil Colman from Saltburn and the Nissan Sunny GTI-R crew will be hot favourites for top honours once again over the 36 stage miles.

Previous winners John Bogie (MG Metro 6R4) and Dave Holland (Ford Escort Mk 1) are both absent this year, so challenging Bardy will be Cumbrian Tim Finch (Ford Escort Cosworth).

Should it stay dry, there are no less than four crowd-pleasing MG Metro 6R4s in with a shout of victory including Leeds brothers Phil and Mick Gallagher.

Mark Jasper teams up with the experienced Don Whyatt in his version of the car and the Thirsk pairing of Chris Wise and Tracey Taylor West will also be eyeing honours.

The two-wheel drive contingent will see many battles from the Christmas Stages Rally resumed with the MGZR of Martin Farrar and Andy Ward squaring off with the likes of Northallerton rallycrosser Dave Bellerby and co-driver Tom Cardie (Ford Escort). Geordies Andy Fenwick and Lee Tindall will be hoping to impress in their recently acquired Nissan Almera kit car.

The Peugeot 106 of the Lindsey brothers from Carlisle will be up against the Harkness brethren in their Vauxhall Corsa in one of the most keenly fought classes and as well as the modern machinery, there is an historic class featuring the the Ford Mustang of Andrew Hepworth, Brian Morris' Datsun 240Z and the Ford Escort Mk 1 of Paul Slingsby.

Other locals include Northallerton's Darren Grimston (Ford Escort), Bishop Auckland's Bob Dennis (Subaru Impreza) and Gilling West driver Terry Searle (Rover 25).

Alistair Hutchinson from Egglestone Evenwood will be a major threat in his LPG powered Renault Clio, as will former Danby Wiske farmer Carl Tuer in his Proton and expect the likes of Richard Welford (Masham), Kevin Liddle (Middlesbrough) and Northallerton's Jonathan Bean to go well.

Admission is £7 per adult with accompanied children admitted free and gates open at 8am with racing off at 9.15am.

The little-used forests on the western fringes of the North Yorkshire Moors will once again be reverberating to the sound of rally cars when the annual Riponian Rally gets underway on February 5.

Traditionally the first major forest rally of the year in the region, 2006 will see Ripon Motor Sport Club once again maintain their successful format which will see the event incorporated into two regional championships.

In addition, Ripon Land Rover, part of the Ripon Farm Services Group and based at Hutton Bank in the city, where scrutineering and documentation will take place the day prior, will be sponsoring the event for the tenth year in succession and again some of the top names in rallying are expected to be heading for the Lightwater Valley start.

Former winners Kevin Procter from Leeming and his Northallerton co-driver Mike Gilby are expected to enter in their WRC based Ford Puma Evo 4 x 4, while Tim Pearcey from Harrogate is a regular on the event also in his Mitsubishi Lancer, as is local dairy farmer Charlie Payne (Subaru). Last year, Procter missed out on victory by a mere ten seconds to County Durham businessman Barry Johnson (Subaru WRC) with Ulsterman Brendan Crealey (Ford Focus WRC) in third ahead of both Payne and Pearcey.

Demand for the 90 places is expected to be high and prospective competitors are urged to submit their entries at the earliest opportunity by contacting the entries secretary Lynsey Walsh on 01845 525985 (before 9pm) or via e-mail at info. riponian@ntlworld. com. Marshals are also required and further details can be obtained from Chief Marshal Dave Walmsley on 07831 596292 or at marshal. riponian@ntlworld. com.

Published: 10/01/2006