Steve Hendy is heading to Belgium this weekend to begin his assault on the Belgian National Rally Championship.

Together with co-driver Aled Davies they will head to the Liege province for an extremely tough start to the rally season.

“There is no easy curtain opener in Belgium,’’ said Steve. “This is one of the longest and trickiest rallies of the whole year and the competition is going to be fierce.’’

Steve, who will once again be at the wheel of the Hendy Ford Focus WRC, is looking forward to pitting his skills against some of the best asphalt drivers in the world on the East Belgian Rally.

The two day event gets underway on Saturday March 15 with more than 140km of high speed action on the closed roads around Spa Francorchamps with a further 90 km of action on the Sunday before the finish podium in the town of Stavelot.

This will not be the first time Steve and Aled have competed abroad, both have experience of the asphalt roads of Belgium and are looking forward to a return to the series.

“We always get an extremely warm welcome in Belgium and the events are all really challenging but enjoyable,’’ said Steve.

“This weekend we have the added complication of unpredictable weather which will really add to the challenge and survival really will be the key if we are to make an impact on the championship.’’

The East Belgian Rally is the first of eight rounds the pair plan to contest.