This year’s Brean Stages Rally takes part at the weekend with a record entry of 100 starters.

IT IS action all the way with this year’s Brean Stages Rally and is set to be the biggest yet with a record entry of 100 starters at the Brean Leisure Park venue in Somerset.

With a number of world rally cars among the entries, competition for top honours is bound to be keenly contested over the two days of rallying in the park. The rally, which takes place on January 25 and 26 will host rally crews from all around the UK, including a number of national rally champions.

Nineteen-year-old Aaron Newby from Cumbria, who is the 2013 Manx Rally champion, with an impressive nine wins in his TEG Sport and Pirelli-backed Subaru Impreza is in action.

Also taking part is Richard Bliss from Weston, who has recently been crowned Welsh Tarmac Rally champion in his Honda Civic Type R. Alongside these will be Peter Lloyd, former five-times winner of this event and Welsh Rally champion, driving his Subaru Impreza WRC S14 and Steve Furzeland, winner of this event in 2013 driving a Subaru Impreza WRC S12.

Entered in his first rally at Brean will be the 2011 British Truck Racing Association champion driver, Dave Jenkins, probably better known for his recent exploits on TV driving the slip-streaming truck for bike racer Guy Martin in the Channel 4 programme Speed.

The rally actually gets under way for the competitors on January 24 when the pre-rally scrutineering comes to Weston. For the first time,this will be held at Weston College’s new Automotive Technology Centre in Locking Road.

This facility will also be open to the public who will get the opportunity to view the rally cars and meet the drivers.

Six special stages will be completed throughout Saturday with a further six stages on Sunday and an added Trophy Rally incorporating those competitors who were unfortunate to retire from the rally on the Saturday stages and who manage to put things back together for the Sunday morning re-start.

The rally, organised by Club Rallysport West, was awarded the coveted South West Rally of the Year in 2011 and has grown in stature and popularity over the years and now attracts some of the sports leading crews.

The rally will again be the opening round of two major regional championship series, the Association of South Western Motor Clubs and the Cotswold Motor Sport Group.

Spectators will be admitted to the event over both days of the rally with an admission charge of just £5 (accompanied children under 12 will be admitted free) and car parking will be £5. Gates open on both days from 8.30am.

You can keep up to date with all the rally news by visiting the website www.crswrallies.co.uk