A bumper 65-car entry will compete at Croft Circuit tomorrow as the North Yorkshire circuit hosts the penultimate round of the 2014 Autosport International BTRDA Rallycross Championship.
The main attraction on another action-packed programme are the turbo-charged, four-wheel drive, 550bhp Supercars, which are capable of accelerating from 0-100kph in less than two seconds.
Top of the Procters Coaches Clubman Supercar class is Barnard Castle hotelier Mark Watson, who is looking for local success as he returns to the sport after spending the past 12 months rebuilding his Citroen Xzara T16.
The other supercars lining up on the grid include Andy Grant (Ford Focus), who makes the long trip from North Devon as he looks to claim the Clubman Supercar title, Gary Pusey (Subaru Impreza), Simon Horton (Subaru Impreza) and Leeming-based Kevin Procter, who has been invited by event organisers to give him a chance to test his World Rallycross specification Ford Fiesta T16.
The Funk Motorsport Super Modified class, which is for two-wheel drive machinery, has assembled the biggest grid of cars seen at a Rallycross event this year.
The diversity of the machinery is considerable, with everything from a 1500cc Toyota Paseo driven by Rob Scott right up to the super-charged machinery of Northallerton’s Guy Corner, Tony Lynch, who hails from Wigan, and Allan Tapscott, who is based in Devon.
With 30 cars on the entry list, the racing should be fast and furious, and a number of local drivers will be hoping for some success.
Newcastle’s Brian Jukes (Audi TT), Northallerton’s Darren Grimston (Suzuki Swift) and Darlington driver Larry Carter (Peugeot 206) should all be challenging at the head of affairs.
Kieran Curran will be making the longest journey in the class, and he will be bringing his rapid Vauxhall Corsa to Croft for the first time as he attempts to stamp his authority on the overall BTRDA Championship lead.
Often regarded as the entry level class in Rallycross, the Red 5 Motorpsort Production class has 20 cars on the entry list, and one driver who will be looking for success is current BTRDA Championship leader Chris Harper (Citroen Saxo), who is from County Durham.
Harper is sure to face some stiff competition in a class which has produced four different winners in the first four championship rounds this year.
Other local drivers who will be looking for the a place on the podium include Stockton’s Martin Peter (Citroen Saxo), Great Ayton’s Ian Horn (Vauxhall Nova), Darlington’s John Gaskin (Citroen Saxo) and Northallerton’s Colin Ramsey (Peugeot 205).
The Fuchs Lubricants BMW Mini and Fuchs Lubricants Classic Mini classes bring together the ‘old’ and ‘new’ editions of the world-famous Mini.
In the BMW Mini class, Ferryhill driver David Bell will be hoping to continue his winning ways in 2014 by beating the Hudson brothers, who are sure to give him a run for his money.
Other classes also on the entry list include the Autocross class, which has an entry of seven cars, all made up of local drivers from the Newcastle area, most of whom are trying Rallycross for the first time.
Tomorrow’s action starts at 9.30am, and will feature more than 40 different races. Adult admission costs £10, with accompanied children under 15 free. Free parking is also available.
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