A PARTNERSHIP with a North Yorkshire motor dealer has opened doors for an up-and-coming North-East rally driver, Paul Swift.

As the son of famous precision driver Russ Swift, the 23-year-old has already made his mark on auto-testing, finishing second last year in the national championships in the discipline where his dad made a his name.

However, more recently, Paul has acquired a taste for rallying and was hunting a sponsor to back him.

Russ had already signed a display driver deal with Peugeot and has been booked for a series of events up and down the country throughout this year.

However, thanks to a long-term friendship with Northallerton Peugeot dealer Simon Bailes, the agreement has developed to include sponsorship for Paul, from Darlington, who has confirmed he will compete in the 2003 Peugeot 206 Super Cup.

"The series is one of the leading one-make championships in the country,'' said Paul. "The first round was supposed to be in Wales but that was called off - so an extra event has been added instead, which takes us through Kielder Forest which is right on my doorstep.

"The next round after that is the Pirelli Rally, which starts in Gateshead, which also gives me a home advantage - but it's still going to be a steep learning curve and our main aim will be just to finish every event. With no experience of the car on gravel, we need to learn as much as possible.''

Co-driver for the series will be motoring and business writer Alyson Marlow, while County Durham's AS Performance will supply Paul's back-up crew.